TSMC Founder Morris Chang Recalls Early American Investment in Taiwan; Stresses Importance of U.S.-Taiwan Collaboration at the Chamber’s 2023 Annual General Meeting

TAIPEI, Taiwan – The American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (AmCham) held its 2023 Annual General Meeting on November 21 with record attendance and membership. Founder of chips giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Dr. Morris Chang, gave the keynote address at the event.

During his opening remarks, AmCham Chairperson Vincent Shih noted the significant milestones in Taiwan-U.S. economic and trade cooperation achieved during the previous week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting. These included the resumption of the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue (EPPD), advancement of a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, commitment to accelerating the schedule for the second-stage negotiations of the Taiwan-U.S. Initiative on 21st-Century Trade and promoting cooperation to include third-party countries – all issues of longstanding concern for the Chamber.

During his remarks, Dr. Chang shared memories of his early interactions with Taiwan during his time as Global Vice President at Texas Instruments in the 1960s, including discussions with then Minister of Economic Affairs Li Kwoh-ting, the ‘father’ of Taiwan’s economic miracle. Dr. Chang said that Li worked tirelessly to overcome intellectual property rights and land use challenges in establishing the factory, which finally allowed Texas Instruments to successfully take root in Taiwan. Dr. Chang said that Taiwan has excellent talent and welcomes companies to set up here, ushering in an era of prosperity for Taiwan. He said that this initial experience of American investment was an important milestone in Taiwan’s economic development.

Chairperson Shih thanked the board of governors and supervisors for their efforts over the past year, emphasizing that their support has helped AmCham continue to grow. He also welcomed Patrick P. Lin, AmCham’s new President. Shih said that Lin’s excellent leadership style and rich experience in industry and innovation will inject vitality into the Chamber.

President Patrick P. Lin noted that the current moment for U.S.-Taiwan relations is the most important for 40 years. Over the past year, the Chamber hosted a record number of delegations of U.S. members of congress, state governments, think tanks and industry associations, as well as the four leading Taiwan presidential candidates in closed-door discussions with its membership.

Lin emphasized that AmCham will continue to promote economic and trade cooperation between the United States and Taiwan, continue to attract foreign investment in Taiwan, and work with the government to align business operations in Taiwan with international standards, fulfilling its responsibility to help safeguard Taiwan’s future.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Fernando Chen
Senior Manager of Government and Public Affairs Department
02-27188226 ext. 213 [email protected]

Joyce Pan
Manager of Government and Public Affairs Department
02-27188226 ext. 211 [email protected]