Taiwan will attend APEC Summit: foreign ministry

外交部：台灣將參加亞太經濟合作會議高峰會

Members of the presidential envoy to the APEC Summit not yet decided


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Sunday the country will attend the coming APEC leaders’ summit and the ministry is making preparations.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Week will commence between November 12 to 18 in Papua New Guinea, with the week-long summit culminating with the APEC Economic Leaders Meetings on the last day. Leaders or representatives of 21 member economies are expected to gather in Port Moresby, the capital of the South Pacific island state, including the U.S., China, Japan, Canada, and Australia.

MOFA Spokesperson Andrew Lee (李憲章) said as an APEC member, Taiwan “will surely attend the APEC summit this year” and that the ministry is in preparation, reported Central News Agency.

Declining to talk about the details, Lee said instead that the Taiwanese government has been in close contact with the host country which has followed custom procedures so far.

Lee also said the Presidential Office will make an announcement regarding the presidential envoy at a suitable time.

Despite being an official member, Taiwan always participates in the APEC meetings under the name “Chinese Taipei,” and a ministerial-level official designated by Taiwan’s presidents customarily attends the annual APEC leaders’ summit.

After James Soong (宋楚瑜), a senior politician and chairman of the People First Party, said he was not keen to be President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) APEC envoy for the third time, a question remains of who will take up the responsibility.

Upmedia reported that former Premier Lin Chuan (林全) is a possible choice with bipartisan support of politicians from major parties. However, Lin is currently a senior advisor to the president, and his proximity to the current administration may be deemed unacceptable in the eyes of Beijing, which consistently pressures international organizations in its campaign to belittle Taiwan and undermine its international presence.