Former Vice President Vincent Siew will be attending the upcoming APEC leaders’ summit on behalf of President Ma Ying-jeou. That’s the word from the Presidential Office on Wednesday.
APEC is an international economic forum with 21 member countries, all on the Pacific Rim. This year’s leaders' summit will be held from November 10 to 11 in Beijing.
Presidential Office Spokesperson Ma Wei-kuo said that the former vice president’s professional expertise and expansive network of contacts will help Taiwan boost its trade influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Former Vice President Siew is familiar with economic and foreign affairs and has attended APEC meetings five times either as economic ministers and leaders," said Ma. "He has also attended the Boao Forum for Asia nine times. That’s why President Ma Ying-jeou has decided to ask Former Vice President Siew to serve as Taiwan’s envoy.”
Ma Ying-jeou had hoped to become the first Taiwanese president to attend the APEC summit and hold a historic meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but the announcement that Siew would attend the summit confirmed that those hopes have been dashed. Taiwan’s president is barred from attending the APEC summit because of opposition from China.