Morris Chang (張忠謀)
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Nov. 18 (CNA) Taiwan's special envoy to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit Morris Chang (張忠謀) said he had accomplished everything with which he was tasked by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) before the trip, as the summit concluded in Papua New Guinea on Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference to mark the conclusion of his trip, Chang, founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), told reporters that he had successfully completed his mission at the summit.
However, Chang said he was unable to provide any details on his mission.
When asked to rank his performance at the APEC summit on a scale of 0-100, Chang said "That is for President Tsai to decide."
Asked if he would consider serving as Tsai's APEC envoy again next year, the 87-year-old said he would not think about it until next year.
Despite being a full member of the 21-member inter-governmental forum since 1991, Taiwan's presidents are traditionally prohibited from attending the leaders' summit due to China's opposition and have to instead name a proxy in their place.
It has been 12 years since Chang last served as Taiwan's envoy to APEC in 2006.
President Tsai earlier praised Chang's performance at the APEC summit.
In a Facebook post Sunday, Tsai expressed gratitude to Chang for his efforts in promoting Taiwan's relations with the United States and other countries at the summit.
According to Chang, he met and had "friendly and candid" interactions with over a dozen leaders from APEC member states over the past few days, including with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, and the prime ministers of Japan and Singapore, among others.
Meanwhile, in a closed door meeting with APEC leaders earlier Sunday, Chang gave a seven-minute speech on the challenges and opportunities of the rise of digital economy.
In his speech, Chang, former chairman of TSMC, the world's leading contract chipmaker, highlighted Taiwan's digital economy expertise and the need to boost regional technology collaboration.
Although Taiwan is a mid-sized economy, it is an integral and unavoidable link in the supply chain, according to Chang.
Taiwan stands ready and willing to work with regional partners in addressing challenges resulting from rapid technological development, including the widening wealth gap and unemployment, as well as inadequate protections for individual privacy and intellectual property rights, Chang said.
(By Liao Yu-yang and Joseph Yeh)
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