Once again, Taiwan recently took part in 2003 APEC Leaders' Meeting in Bangkok in late October to demonstrate and reassure its international presence and visibility. Like last year, Taiwan's Noble Laureate Dr. Yuan-Tseh Lee, President of Academia Sinica attended the Summit as Taiwan's Presdient Chen Shui-Bian's proxy. Lee, with his own glory in world's academic achievement, has actually gained extra point for Taiwan in his role of representing Taiwan at APEC. High ranking officials inside the Presidential Hall have even praised Lee as Taiwan's self created brandname in the international arena. Though President Lee openly wishes that President Chen could be present in the future APEC summit, it is likely that Taiwan government will still rely on Lee to perform such extraordinary function beyond his academic leadership.

To many of the APEC economies and countries, APEC leaders' summit may jsut be another regular occasion for showing up their presidents and prime ministers and possibly engaging in some bilateral negotiation on specific issues with each other. But to Taiwan, it is a different ball game, quite an important diplomatic game that it can not afford to lose. Under its unique diplomatic status with China's relentless attempts of suppressing in international arena, Taiwan very much treasures its full membership in APEC and its representative leader's annual appearance at the summit. After all, APEC and WTO are among the rare international organizations in which Taiwan can officially claim its equal partnership. Especially APEC's leaders' summit is the only opportunity for Taiwan President to send his own trusted emissary to convey personal and important messages to the leaders whom he wishes to develop initial or further contact.

In the past ten years, constrained by the very unfair understanding that the President of Taiwan would not personally attend APEC, the bureaucracy in Taiwan government have only limited their attention and efforts to those Ministerial meetings and related activities sponsored by APEC. The Leaders'Summit was therefore viewed an ceremonial extension of the concrete issues-oriented Ministerial meetings before the Summit, who would be there was not really taken seriously. The misconception was that since the President could not be there in person, the proxy should not be given any substantive responsibility or mission to fulfill and simply present at APEC was enough. Apparently it has been a passive and negative approach on the part of Taiwan toward the APEC Leaders'Meeting.

In other words, though APEC was regarded as a very important international organization to Taiwan, to actively participate and to be there were then taken as the goal by itself. It has been the case for all APEC Senior Officers and Ministerial meetings. As a result, APEC affair was unfortunately limited to many ad hoc policy and programming considerations at ministerial level and never was upgraded into a vital international strategic thinking. Taiwan participation in APEC remained to be the domains of activities for various ministers and deputy ministers, not Prime Minister , and certainly not the President. Worse enough, the sending the Leader's representative became a routine and practical exercise and no deeper strategic consideration behind the choice.

Not until 2002, the strategic importance of APEC to Taiwan's upgrading its visibility and improving its status in international arena was then finally recognized and emphasized by the government, especially the Office of the President. More and better coordination were made among different ministries that have been involved in APEC affair. Such change represents a broader and more positive attitude toward APEC, especially its leaders' Summit.

PRC's unfriendly actions intended to downgrade and even exclude Taiwan's participation in APEC were never stopped since the very beginning when both Taiwan and China entered APEC in 1991. This year in Bangkok witnessed no exception. In the past, Taiwan government's attention was pre-occupied with how to counter-act PRC's unreasonable interference and demands that were put on each year host government over Taiwan's selection of leader's proxy and various details of arrangement. From this year, Taiwan had changed its stance over this unpleasant “China problem”, by refusing to be trapped into such bilateral cross-Strait political dispute in the occasion of APEC. Though Taiwan still made necessary protest to China's nuance in demanding change on already agreed upon seating arrangement for leaders to prevent Taiwan's Lee Yuan-Tseh from sitting right next to the Thai host, Prime Minister Thaksin at the formal banquet during Bangkok Summit. But more and more attention and effort from Taiwan have been put on how to further strengthen Taiwan's already active participation in APEC and make more positive and more appreciable contributions to many other APEC member countries. Tackling the Taiwan-China conflict should not be the focus of Taiwan's presence at APEC, rather developing productive regional cooperation and partnership building beyond China trouble should be the key objective for Taiwan to pursue in APEC. This is the new direction and new approach that Taiwan has decided to take from now on. China should do the same by changing its stance from attempting to stop Taiwan to compete with Taiwan for being a welcome member at APEC. Taiwan considers it a healthy option for both sides to take.

The following are examples of new approach that Taiwan is going to stress in the near future for it performance in APEC.

1. Taiwan highly values the importance of APEC membership to sustain its international status, but such “diplomacy” substitution should not be exaggerated and Taiwan will continue vow to dedicate to the spirit of equality, cooperation and mutual benefit of APEC by more actively playing its “regional” and “global” role in APEC and beyond. Taiwan will observe and commit to every single declaration, consensus, and decided projects made by APEC meetings. Taiwan in the past has begun to offer suggestions and proposals to other APEC member countries drawing from the Taiwan experience or initiative. Recent initiatives such as “Best Practice of Entrepreneurship and Start-Up business”, “Establishing Health Ministerial Hotlines”, and “Transforming Digital Divide into Digital Opportunities”launched by Taiwan and were adopted for wide application by APEC. These useful contributions made by Taiwan should be acknowledged and appreciated by many other APEC members.

2. In the future, Taiwan will also be willing to share its lessons of success and failure in combating new challenges and obstacles in course of pursing prosperity, development and sustainability. New issues such as “narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor under the pressure of globalization”, “ sustainable development for island Taiwan and many other island countries”, “promoting health and upgrading quality of life for all citizens”, “incubation of entrepreneurship for small and medium enterprise”, and “implications of educational reforms” are potential areas to be explored by both Taiwan and interested APEC partners.

3. Taiwan has formulated and will continue to implement its “Go South Policy” as originally announced in 1994 focusing mainly on economic and investment relations with Southeast Asia. In 2002, the second phase “Go South Policy” was launched in extending the original policy domains into broader aspects like cultural, academic, NGOs, education, women, religion, and congress. During the bilateral meetings between Taiwan and other Southeast Asian APEC member countries, Taiwan's “Go South Policy”was frequently raised with expectation by those national leaders. It is believed that after the realization of the first and second phases, Taiwan could be in a better strategic position in working with Southeast Asian counterparts.

4. APEC was established to promote economic cooperation among members. Political stands should therefore be set aside, discrimination against or exclusion of any member is not allowed. Taiwan strongly endorses those founding principles and expect to work with all members to protect the integrity of APEC.