Gov't defends choice of APEC proxy

        Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General James Huang held a press conference Oct. 14 to defend the administration's choice of proxy to stand in for ROC President Chen Shui-bian at the upcoming annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum informal leaders meeting in Busan, South Korea. According to Huang, Kuomintang (KMT) heavyweight and Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng was chosen to be the president's envoy to the international meeting, and Chinese opposition to the appointment is a distortion of the spirit of a 1991 memorandum of understanding (MOU).

        The president announced his appointment of Wang while receiving special APEC envoy Yun Hai Jung from South Korea Oct. 12, who was visiting the island to discuss Taiwan's APEC representative.

        Following the news of Wang's appointment, Kong Quan, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, announced Beijing's strong opposition to Wang's participation at the APEC confab because, according to the 1991 MOU, "Taipei can only send ministers in charge of economic issues related to APEC to attend its meetings." "We resolutely oppose any delegate from Taiwan in violation of the stipulation," Kong was reported as saying. He also urged South Korea, the host of this year's APEC meeting, to play a dual role and see to it that such violation of the MOU does not happen.

        Huang explained during the press conference that the MOU was signed in 1991 when Taiwan, China and Hong Kong were simultaneously admitted to APEC. At that time, the highest-level APEC event was the annual meeting of economic and foreign affairs ministers of all APEC member economies, and the 1991 MOU established that ROC foreign ministers would be unable to attend the ministerial meetings. Huang went on to explain that the unofficial summit in question was founded in 1993 as an initiative of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and therefore the MOU "should not be applicable to the summit." During a previous press conference, Huang revealed that both South Korea and the United States had been informed of Chen's decision to send Wang as his proxy. Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun also noted that Wang is well-respected by both the ruling party and his own opposition KMT, in which he recently lost an election for party chairman. According to the Office of the President, U.S. sources have commented that the appointment of Wang was a "creative move." According to reports in the local media, Wang gladly accepted the invitation to attend the summit and sought help from his party in communicating with Chinese authorities and urging them to approve his trip to South Korea. According to Taipei mayor and KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou, the party would normally provide all necessary assistance to Wang, but "now that China has openly opposed it, it has become more difficult, as it would be hard to ask China to change its mind." This year's summit of the 21 leaders of APEC member states is scheduled to be held in the southern port city of Busan Nov. 18-19. U.S. President George W. Bush and PRC President Hu Jintao are expected to attend.

        The 2005 APEC summit organizing committee sent a special envoy to Taipei in July to invite Chen, in line with long-established protocol. While receiving the special envoy, Chen expressed the hope that he would be allowed to attend the meeting in person. Chinese opposition forced Chen to name a surrogate who will attend the meeting on his behalf.

        Huang said that the government is determined to attend this year's summit despite China's continued interference, adding that the president has "no other candidate so far to replace Wang" as his envoy.

        Huang said the government will continue to communicate with the United States and South Korea to help Wang make the trip and stressed that Taiwan should have the right to determine its own APEC appointee, a stance which Chen has made clear during his meeting with Yun.

        APEC is one of the few international organizations that count both Taipei and Beijing as members. Due to opposition from Beijing, presidents of the Republic of China have been unable to attend previous APEC summits and have had to name proxies to attend in their stead. In the past few years, Chen has sent Lee Yuan-tseh, Nobel laureate in chemistry and head of the nation's highest research institute, to represent him at the annual meeting. Lee reportedly declined Chen's invitation this time around.