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Published Date: 2021-11-12
Taiwanese business
tycoon Morris Chang is set to use an APEC leaders’ summit scheduled for Friday
night to make the case for Taiwan’s inclusion in the CPTPP trade bloc.
Chang is the
founder of Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC. He is set to represent Taiwan at
the meeting, since political considerations mean that Taiwan’s presidents are
never able to attend APEC events.
Taiwan applied to
join the CPTPP trade bloc in September. Since membership in APEC and the CPTPPP
largely overlaps, Friday’s APEC meeting will provide a good opportunity for
Taiwan to drum up support for its CPTPP bid.
Chang reportedly
plans to make two arguments in favor of Taiwan’s admission to the CPTPP. One is
the relatively high amount of trade it does. The other is the fact that Taiwan
is close to meeting the CPTPP’s high standards.
In addition to
tasking Chang with building support for Taiwan’s CPTPP bid, President Tsai
Ing-wen has also asked him to urge faster and more equitable access to COVID
vaccines worldwide and the use of digital tools to create a more resilient
medical system.