Environmental issues focus of Taiwan representatives at APEC summit

Taipei, Aug 29 (UNI) In recognition of the threat posed by global warming and the importance of energy security, Taiwanese business leaders will focus on environmental issues at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) business summit, the delegation said today.

Even from a purely business point of view, the impact of global warming and energy security can no longer be overlooked and ignored, said Jeffrey Koo, Chairman of Chinatrust Financial Holding Company, who will be leading the Chinese Taipei business delegation to Sydney, Australia for the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) September 6-7.

Koo, Theodore Huang, chairman of Chinese Association of Industry and Commerce, and Henry Kao, Vice Chairman of I-Mei Foods Company will be three top representatives of the Taiwanese delegation, which also includes a number of business leaders invited by the Australian government, report the Taiwanese central news agency (CNA).

Taipei Financial Center Corp Chairwoman Diana Chen, a delegation member, spoke of the importance of energy in the urban setting: ''Taipei 101 is like a vertical city. I believe there are many things we can learn from broad discussions and exchanges at the APEC summit in terms of energy management and energy consumption saving.'' Taiwan businesses will help promote ''Green APEC Opportunity, '' the nation's initiative this year for the APEC meeting. As Taiwan has not been doing particularly well in controlling greenhouse gas emissions, it can contribute to the promotion and development of environmental and energy-saving products, said Huang Chih-peng, Director-General of Bureau of Foreign Trade.

Taiwanese business leaders will also support proposals submitted by Australia, the Asia-Pacific Network on Climate Change/Clean Development and the Global Initiative on Forests and Climate, Huang said, adding that Taiwan will be able to contribute with its advanced solar energy technology.

In terms of the other important aspect of the meeting -- Trade and Investment Liberalization and Facilitation (TILF) -- Taiwan's position is no different than other member economies, which share the long term goal of finding ways and means to establish the Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), said David Hong, Director General of the Chinese Taipei APEC Study Center (CTASC).

The ABAC is one of a series of APEC meetings to be held in Sydney from September 2-9. The meetings include Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting (CSOM), APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM), ABAC and the APEC economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) -- the highlight of the annual meeting of 21 member economies.

UNI