By Sam Hsieh, International Affairs Department of TEEMA
TEEMA and American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (AmCham Taiwan) met virtually on July 19 to discuss possible future cooperation to bolster stronger ties between the ICT industries of both countries. The discussion was led by Mr. Richard Lee, Chairman of TEEMA, and Mr. C. W. Chin, Chairperson of AmCham Taiwan. It was an introductory meeting between the two associations. Chairman Lee and Chairperson Chin delivered their remarks and introduction of the associations was given, followed by an open discussion by the participants.
Mr. C. W. Chin, Chairperson of AmCham Taiwan, pointed out in his remarks that AmCham Taiwan represents about 1,000 members from various industries, such as pharmaceutical, finance, semiconductor, food and beverages, hospitality, travel, etc., and majority of its members are US companies, who may be partners or customers of TEEMA members, so the area of possible cooperation between TEEMA and AmCham Taiwan is quite extensive.
In his remarks, Mr. Richard Lee, Chairman of TEEMA, congratulated AmCham Taiwan on the renaming from AmCham Taipei to AmCham Taiwan, the publication of "2021 Business Climate Survey" and "2021 Taiwan White Paper", and the success in helping to resume Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) after five years of suspension. Chairman Lee also recognized that Taiwan will need to work hard on the concerns that are addressed in the "2021 Taiwan White Paper", including accelerating digital transformation, bolstering supply chain, energy concerns, making Taiwan bilingual, and expanding influence.
Chairman Lee mentioned that TEEMA has worked closely with the American Institute in Taiwan(AIT) during Mr. Brent Christensen's term, the former Director of AIT, on the 4 areas of cooperation in his agenda, which are to promote stronger Taiwan-US security cooperation, stronger Taiwan-US economic and commercial cooperation, increase Taiwan's role in the international community, and stronger people to people ties. Chairman Lee concluded that TEEMA will remain available for any possible cooperation that will bring Taiwan and the US closer together.
Mr. Don Shapiro, Senior Advisor of AmCham Taiwan, gave a brief introduction of the association. According to Mr. Shapiro, AmCham Taiwan does most of its work through its committees. Recently, a Digital Economy Committee was spun off from the Technology Committee, and the board is considering to create a separate Semiconductor Committee due to its importance in the Taiwan-US relationship. Mr. Shapiro shared that these committees meet frequently to discuss challenges the face in their sectors and come up with sugges tions to resolve these issues. These recommendations are then put together to produce the Taiwan White Paper, which is usually published in the beginning of June every year. The Taiwan White Paper is presented to the National Development Council (NDC) who acts as the coordinator to address these challenges through various ministries and agencies in the Taiwanese government branch. Mr. Shapiro also mentioned that usually AmCham would organize a delegation after the publication of the Taiwan White Paper to go to Washington D.C. to meet with high level US officials, think tanks, scholars, and other organizations that are involved in the Taiwan-US relationship, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AmCham could not organize such mission this year. After Mr. Shapiro's introduction to AmCham, Chairperson Chin suggested that TEEMA and AmCham could work together through committees, publications and events.
Following the presentation on the introduction of TEEMA, Chairman Lee shared the direction of TEEMA's future. He first recognized the vision of AmCham's decision to spin off the Digital Economy Committee from the Technology Committee. Chairman Lee shared that TEEMA is also in the process of transformation to incorporate digital service into its portfolio. TEEMA is founded on manufacturing, but through the effort of former Chairmen and the board of directors and supervisors, now one-third of TEEMA members are non-manufacturers but rather service providers.
Secondly, Chairman Lee said that TEEMA is positioning itself to lead in the future of ICT. A new initiative, ICT Plus, seeks to combine ICT with other upcoming industries such as electric vehicle, biotechnology, etc., and TEEMA has established new committees to lead in these sectors. Chairman Lee pointed out that TEEMA used to work almost solely with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, but in order to seek guidance and support for this new initiative, TEEMA is extending its horizon by begin working with the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Development Council and the soon to be established Ministry of Digital Development. Lastly, Chairman Lee added on that TEEMA is not only an ICT association, but also an energy association. Under Chairman Lee's direction, TEEMA has included "Sustainability" to its core values and had published the "TEEMA White Paper on Blueprint of Sustainability Strategy" in March of 2021, addressing the concerns for Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG). Mr. Shapiro of AmCham responded that AmCham also has an Energy Committee and a Sustainable Development Goals Committee. The two sides can cooperate on environmental topics as well.
Chairman Lee of TEEMA proposed that the two associations could jointly host events. While the SelectUSA Investment Summit remains the highlight event for TEEMA, there could be more Taiwan-US cooperative events throughout the year. Chairman Lee said that, on the business front, there are three areas where TEEMA seeks for AmCham's support. First is to increase investment in the US. Some companies are willing to directly invest in the US while others allocate their resources in the border area between the US and Mexico. Second is finding skilled talents in the US. Chairman Lee pointed out that Taiwanese companies find it difficult to recruit enough talents locally and therefore are forced to bring in their engineers and technicians from Taiwan or China, creating problems during the process. Third and last is to transform Taiwan's ICT industry from focusing on supply chain to value chain. TEEMA advocates to increase its members' investment in research and development with an innovative and futuristic mindset. Chairperson Chin of AmCham responded that besides cooperation via committees, publications and events, TEEMA and AmCham could also work together on the aforementioned topics. Chairperson Chin said that AmCham has great resources when it comes to the US, and it is very willing to share them with TEEMA.
Chairman Lee replied that most of TEEMA's resources are dedicated in Taiwan. By his observation, we will see a tremendous growth in the southern region of Taiwan in the next decade, and TEEMA is not missing out on this opportunity. On a separate note, TEEMA is working with Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) to urge President Tsai and the Executive Yuan to announce Taiwan's zero emission and carbon neutrality commitment, hopefully before the end of August 2021, so that Taiwan could have the chance to attend the UN Climate Change Conference scheduled in November 2021 in Glasgow, UK. Chairman Lee also proposed that TEEMA and AmCham exchange their monthly publications as a mean of ongoing communication.
Chairperson Chin agreed to Chairman Lee's proposal and asked for TEEMA's support in southern Taiwan since AmCham's members are mostly concentrated in the north. As for talent development, AmCham is hosting the NextGen Leaders program, a year-long series of events designed for young professionals who want to develop their skills and networks, and Chairperson Chin welcomes TEEMA to join the program.
The meeting concluded after an hour-long fruitful discussion with both sides giving valuable inputs. Through this initial meeting,TEEMA and AmCham Taiwan have found common ground for cooperation and have established a mutual understanding for future partnership. The area and topics for cooperation are broad and extensive, and TEEMA and AmCham Taiwan both look forward to bolstering the Taiwan-US relationship by partnering together.
AmCham Taiwan's monthly publication, the TOPICS. partnering together.
