The Republic of China's (Taiwan) Participation in APEC: Significance, Results, and Contributions

The Republic of China (Taiwan) became a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 1991. Within the economic arena, the significance and results of that membership include:

1. Prior to joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), APEC was one of the few international economic organizations in which Taiwan had formal membership. Participation in APEC conferences and activities has raised Taiwan's visibility at international economic gatherings, and made apparent that Taiwan is an integral part of the international community. 

2. Participation in APEC, one of the few international economic organizations of which Taiwan is a member, has helped Taiwan develop the capabilities needed to participate in international organizations. And among government officials, it has fostered familiarity with the routine work and operations of international organizations. 

3. Through participation in APEC, Taiwan has established channels of communication with government ministers of other member entities, creating closer substantial relations with those members and more opportunities for cooperation. Because Taiwan has no formal diplomatic relations with any of APEC's other members, bilateral discussions between ministers at these APEC events are of great service in creating dialogue and establishing substantial relations between high-ranking officials from Taiwan and other member entities. 

4. Participation in APEC provides Taiwan with information on developmental trends and issues in international trade and economics, allowing us to draft positions, protect our interests and improve our economic and trade structures. The clearest example of this was in 1996 when APEC was discussing signing the Information Technology Agreement. Because of Taiwan's important position in the information technology industry, APEC members sought Taiwan's support during APEC events and meetings. As a result, Taiwan was able to stay on top of the agreement's newest developments and become party to it, winning favorable export conditions for Taiwan's IT exports.

5. Taiwan utilized APEC events to garner support for its bid for membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). While Taiwan was engaged in the WTO application process, bilateral discussions at APEC events provided Taiwan with the opportunity to communicate with WTO members (who were also members of APEC) and win their support. APEC has always supported WTO's multilateral trading system and the broad dissemination of WTO membership. APEC therefore expressed its strong support for Taiwan's rapid ascension to WTO several times in statements and proclamations from annual meetings and summits, aiding Taiwan's entry into WTO. 

6. In accord with its support of WTO, APEC makes a tangible contribution to WTO by organizing annual WTO-related training seminars for APEC members who need it. Taiwan's government ministries have on several occasions sent officials to these seminars, which have been of great use in improving Taiwan's understanding of WTO-related accords and better enabling it to carry out its WTO obligations.

With regard to Taiwan's contributions to APEC, Taiwan spent the early part of its membership in APEC actively participating in APEC summits and activities to increase its understanding of APEC and to build substantive relationships with other APEC members. To make a contribution to APEC and increase our influence in the forum, in recent years, Taiwan has put forward proposals, won the chairmanships of subordinate forums and working groups, and hosted APEC-related conferences. Taiwan's contributions have included:

1. In 1995, Taiwan proposed that Agricultural Technical Cooperation be included as an item in the Economic and Technical Cooperation section of the Osaka Action Agenda, and, with Japan and Korea, advocated discussion of flexible guidelines for agricultural liberalization in accord with a nation's level of development. 

2. In 1998, Taiwan and New Zealand shared the chairmanship of the Agricultural Technical Cooperation Experts Group. 

3. In 1999, Taiwan served as the Lead Shepherd (chair) of the Trade Promotion Working Group and as the convener of the Group on Services. Taiwan's leadership of these two groups was widely praised by APEC's membership. 

4. In 1999, Taiwan put forward a proposal on promoting start-up companies and venture capital investment as a stimulus to economic recovery and followed by proposing best-practices standards to promote formation of start-up companies and venture capital investment, thereby improving members' understanding of venture capital investment and increasing cooperation. 

5. In 2000, Taiwan put forward a proposal on "Turning the Digital Divide into Digital Opportunities" to assist members in developing e-commerce and shrink the digital divide separating developed and developing nations. The proposal received tremendous attention and support from all APEC's members. 

6. In 2001, Taiwan put forward the second stage of its "Turning the Digital Divide into Digital Opportunities" proposal, which set out concrete actions for assisting APEC's developing members with improving their applications level e-commerce skills. The plan is scheduled to be implemented in 2002.

7. In 2001, Taiwan hosted the 2001 APEC E-commerce Symposium on SMEs, an event complementary to the digital divide proposal. 

8. This year, government agencies will host APEC conferences and training seminars on energy security, the environment, safety assessments for agricultural biotechnology, and monitoring plant epidemics. 

9. In March of this year, Taiwan assumed the chairmanship of the Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group, applying the experience it gained in chairing other work groups to actively contributing to APEC's work on intellectual property rights. 

These achievements demonstrate that Taiwan's participation in APEC has earned it high regard among APEC's membership. We are confident that through continued active participation in this organization, Taiwan can make a contribution to the Asia-Pacific region.