COVID-19 Prevention for Foreign Offices and Foreign Businesses

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AmCham had the pleasure to attend a virtual conference entitled, “COVID-19 Prevention Virtual Conference for Foreign Offices and Foreign Businesses” hosted by the Taipei City Government. Speakers from the Taipei City Government included External Affairs Commissioner Tom Chou, Department of Finance Deputy Commissioner Hu Hsiao-lan, and Department of Economic Development Deputy Commissioner. The program highlighted Taipei City’s epidemic prevention and relief measures, as well as provided useful resources for foreign businesses in Taipei.

See the full presentation below:

AmCham Taiwan Logo Design Competition

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Summary Background

The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei changed its name to the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan in January 2021. This change coincided with its 70th anniversary celebration and AmCham has revised its existing logo (as set out above) to honor this milestone for 2021 only. The original logo dates back to the 1990s and it is time for a new look.

The Board of Governors and AmCham staff would like to invite amateur or professional designers to help AmCham Taiwan design a new logo. The new logo will reflect the Chamber’s new identity and be used effective January 2022. The competition and prize details for the winning design are set out below. We look forward to your proposals!

Submission Specifications

  1. Logo designs must be submitted by email to [email protected].
  • Logo format: Must be submitted in JPG, PNG, or AI file format.
  • Logo resolution: 300 dpi or a minimum resolution of 1280 x 960.
  • File style and size: Cannot exceed 10 MB.
  • Color and B/W versions should be included.
  1. No more than two designs per entrant and submission.
  2. The email must include the name, address, email, and phone number of the entrant.
  3. The name “AmCham Taiwan” may, at the discretion of the designer, be incorporated into the logo design.
  4. The e-mail should include a text file with a brief explanation of the logo (shape, colors specifications, letters type) and explanation of the design, not to exceed 100 words.

Schedule

  • Competition proposal submission deadline: July 4, 2021
  • The winning design will be chosen no later than October 15, 2021.
  • The winner will be announced at the Chamber’s 70th Anniversary event. (Please note: Due to COVID-19 Level 3 restrictions, this event may be postponed to a later date, which may result in the delay of our announcement.)

Criteria for Judging:

Logo design submissions will be evaluated by AmCham Board members and staff according to the following criteria:

Criteria Percentage
Overall image / Concept 40%
Originality / Creativity 30%
Practicability 30%

Please note: AmCham will conduct a trademark search of the winning design. The artist will be held accountable for any issues that may arise regarding the originality and authenticity of the design.

Prize:

The winner will receive the following:

  • 1 bottle of John Walker & Son XR21 Whisky
  • 2 tickets to the 2021 AmCham American Ball
  • 1 ticket to AmCham’s 70th Anniversary reception and recognition as the competition winner at the event

    *Important notice:     In accordance with the Central Epidemic Command Center’s COVID-19 Level 3 guidelines, AmCham is taking precautionary measures to help contain the spread of the virus. Prizes or terms are subject to change without notice or liability.

Intellectual Property

  1. All entries will become the sole property of AmCham Taiwan and may be displayed publicly on the AmCham Taiwan website.
  2. All logos received will become the property of AmCham Taiwan, which retains the right to make amendments to any part(s) of the logo.
  3. The logo design must be the entrant’s original creation and must not have been previously published or trademarked. The logo design must not infringe on the creative work of others or their trademark rights.

Don Shapiro Honored by AmCham

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More than 70 AmCham Taipei members and guests gathered at the Marco Polo Lounge on the 38th floor of Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel last week to honor Don Shapiro, Senior Director and Editor-in-chief of Taiwan Business TOPICS Magazine, for his over 50-year career in Taiwan. Guests enjoyed a selection of delicious food and a free flow of drinks while appreciating the beautiful view of the Taipei skyline.

From January 1, Don will serve as Senior Advisor to the Chamber on a part-time basis.

AmCham President Leo Seewald thanked Don for his 18 years of outstanding service to the Chamber, noting that a total of 222 monthly editions of TOPICS have been published under his direction. As a token of the Chamber’s appreciation, Seewald presented Don with a drawing depicting him together with the rest of the AmCham staff.

Among the many guests attending the event was David Lee, Secretary-General to the President and a former Foreign Minister and National Security Council chief. Lee shared an anecdote of how he has known Shapiro since Don gave him his first job some 45 years ago at the at the Trade Winds Inc. publishing company. Expressing thanks on behalf of the Taiwan government, Lee commended Don for his contributions to strengthening U.S.-Taiwan bilateral relations.

The Chamber also prepared a video reviewing Don’s career and lifetime achievements.

Announcing the Graduates of the First Class of NextGen Leadership Program

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AmCham is pleased to announce the graduates of the first class of the year-long NextGen Leadership Program. It’s been an exciting year launching the program, and we have been proud to see our NextGen Leaders’ passion, persistence, and tremendous growth throughout the year. The Chamber was delighted to have AmCham Governors Paulus Mok, Country Officer of Citibank Taiwan, and Albert Chang, Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company Taiwan Office, speak about their career paths at the graduation ceremony. We hope their stories will help to inspire and provide guidance for the graduates in their development to becoming successful leaders.  Congratulations to the graduates of the 2020 NextGen Leadership Program!

Anne Hsu 3M Taiwan Sr. Division Manager
Benson Hsu 3M Taiwan Financial Planning & Analysis Manager
Frank Wu 3M Taiwan Sr. Division Manager
Gloria Hsiao 3M Taiwan Marketing Operation Head, CHIM Division
Jassica Wang 3M Taiwan Division manager
Rebecca Huang 3M Taiwan Marketing Development Manager
Stacy Huang 3M Taiwan Legal Counsel
Carol Yang Abbott Laboratories Service Corp. Senior Trade Marketing Manager
Charlene Liu Abbott Laboratories Service Corp. Business Development & Market Access Manager
Elsa Lin Abbott Laboratories Service Corp. Marketing Manager
Barnard Yu Amgen Taiwan Limited Associate Medical Director
Cindy Shih Amway Taiwan Co. Ltd. Head of Key accounts management and Biosimilars
Yen-Po Chen Amway Legal and Governmental Affairs Manager
Jordan Huang BABI Corp. International Sales Manager
Teresa Huang BABI Corp. Operations Manager
Angelica Wang Bechtel / Pacific Engineers and Constructors,  Co.  Ltd (PECL) Deputy Manager of Renewables Business Development
Brenda Pao Biogen Taiwan Ltd. Business Unit Manager, SMA
Yiya Chen Bristol-Myers Squibb (Taiwan) Ltd. Director, Commercial Strategy & Operations
Jessica Chang China Development Financial Holding Corp. Director
Leslley Wang Ford Lio Ho Motor Co., Ltd. Government Affairs Manager
Ariel Chan Johnson & Johnson Medical Taiwan Associate Product Manager
Jill Chen JT Tobacco International Taiwan Corp. Corporate Affairs Manager
Allen Cheng JT Tobacco International Taiwan Corp. People & Culture Strategy Supervisor
Joseph Tseng K&L Gates Counsel
Patrick Ng Koo Foundation Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center Project Manager
Kuan-Yu Lai LCS & Partners Counsel
Evan Sheu Makalot. Industrial. Co., Ltd. Project Manager
Aaron Huang Prudential Life Insurance Company of Taiwan Associate Project Manager
Sonia Yu Prudential Life Insurance Company of Taiwan Section head of Customer Experience
Helen Chen SEMI Taiwan Manager

Interested in joining the NextGen Leadership Program? We’re always taking applications, so apply today!

Note: AmCham NextGen Leadership Program is open to all individuals, but the program is intended primarily for AmCham member companies. AmCham reserves the right not to admit applications without explanation.

2020 AGM Election Results

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AmCham thanks its members for attending the Annual General Meeting and helping us to meet the quorum. We are pleased to announce the results of the 2020 Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at the Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel. The election results were compiled by Deloitte & Touche. The elected Governors and Supervisors are listed in alphabetical order. Read more about the event here.

2021-2022 Governors (Serving a two-year term, beginning January 1, 2021):

2021 Supervisors (Serving a one-year term, beginning January 1, 2021):

Other Business Items on the Ballot were all approved. 

With the help of the staff at Deloitte & Touche, we were able to successfully compile the election results for this year. Congratulations to the newly elected Governors and Supervisors!

A Virtual Trip Around the World – at the American Ball

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AmCham Taipei’s 2020 American Ball was an evening of glitz and glamor as nearly 300 members and their guests arrived at the Grand Hyatt Taipei dressed in dashing tuxedos and elegant evening gowns. While the COVID-19 pandemic has severely restricted international travel, the theme of this year’s ball – Fly Me to the World – aimed to bring the world to attendees. The event featured a world-class meal, international performances, and dance-worthy sounds from around the globe.

View the full photo gallery here

As guests began to trickle in, they made their way from the photo stand in the hotel’s lobby to the registration area outside the Grand Ballroom on the third floor. There they were treated to an eye-catching display of duty-free products supplied by Ever Rich, including high-value Taiwanese tea sets, as well as other local snacks and assorted goods. Those wishing to further memorialize their attendance at this premier event had the chance to strike a pose at two photo stations upstairs.

2020 American Ball – AmCham x Ever Rich

The evening’s festivities kicked off with a lively dance performance, transporting the audience to France and Spain with traditional songs and beautiful costumes. It was a hard act to follow, but Master of Ceremonies Roger Yee rose to the occasion, eliciting laughs and applause from guests and putting everyone at ease. He was joined onstage by AmCham Taipei Chairperson CW Chin and President Leo Seewald, and the three raised a toast on behalf of the host organizations.

2020 American Ball – Dance Performers

As the night continued, guests were treated to a sumptuous intercontinental meal, whose courses included Spanish-style smoked halibut, pineapple sorbet with coconut crumble for lovers of Hawaii, Netherlands-style roasted U.S. beef tenderloin, and a coffee chocolate bonbon representing Italy. It was the kind of feast that lets you savor the world without ever needing to leave the dinner table. To complement this delicious spread, bottles of Robert Mondavi Winery Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay were provided by drinks sponsor Sergio Valente, while whisky drinkers enjoyed glasses of Johnnie Walker Black Label Sherry Finish from Diageo.

Live music for the American Ball was provided by Sherwyne Pereira and his band MODA, while local DJ Rick Kraft spun a range of contemporary jams and classic tunes, getting people in the dancing spirit. Those who still had room after dinner could take a break from the dancefloor for a late-night snack of pulled pork sandwiches and Spanish churros. Meanwhile, free-flow refreshments were available at the bar throughout the night.

2020 American Ball – Dance Floor

The 2020 American Ball was made possible by the generosity of a number of sponsoring organizations. These included Grand Prize Sponsor Samsung; Wine & Liquor Sponsors Diageo and Sergio Valente; Gold Sponsors Amgen, Grand Hyatt Taipei, and HSBC; Décor Sponsor Merck; and Silver Sponsors Corning, The Rehfeldt Group, and GSK.

The party featured raffle drawings with attractive prizes throughout the night. The grand prize, from Samsung, was a 65” QLED 4K television. Other prize sponsors included the Grand Hyatt Taipei, Amba Taipei Songshan, CÉ LA VI Taipei, eslite hotel, Everrich, Hotel Eclat Taipei, Hotel Indigo Taipei North, Hotel Royal Group, Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei, Madison Taipei, Mandarin Oriental Taipei, Mellow Fields Taipei, Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, The Landis Taipei, The One, The Place Taipei, Regent Taipei, Sherwood Taipei, Westin Tashee Resort Taoyuan, and W Taipei.

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Interested in attending our events? Join us at other upcoming events, click here.

Note: AmCham events are intended primarily for AmCham members and their guests. Many events are open to members’ guests and other non-members, but the attendance of any non-member must be approved in advance. AmCham reserves the right not to admit a non-member to any event without explanation.

An AmCham “Big Idea”: Establishing a Sovereign Wealth Fund in Taiwan

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AmCham Taipei President Leo Seewald appeared recently on the Taiwan Matters Podcast hosted by Nicholas Gould to discuss the potential for Taiwan to establish a sovereign wealth fund as a number of other countries have done to engage in strategic investing internationally.

The notion of creating such a fund is one of a series of “Big Ideas” that AmCham is seeking to promote.

Seewald is a former Chairman and country head for Black Rock investment Management in Taiwan. Other guests on the podcast include Professor Jennifer Wang, former Chairperson of the Financial Supervisory Commission and now the Chairperson of the Department of Risk Management and Insurance at National Chengchi University; and Silicon Valley angel investor and CEO of Taiwania Capital Management Corp. David Weng. Taiwania is a National Development Fund established by the Taiwan government two years ago.

3M Hosts AmCham Taipei Field Trip

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3M, one of the largest multinational companies operating in Taiwan, hosted the AmCham Taipei staff at its Customer Technology Center in Yangmei on September 25. Jeffrey Tung, Managing Director of 3M Taiwan, provided a briefing about the company’s 51-year history in Taiwan and its leading role in driving science-based innovation. The guests had the opportunity to walk through the impressive showroom area. Through hands-on demonstrations, visitors learned about 3M’s core technologies and witnessed how science can be “applied to life.”

In his briefing, Tung described how 3M applies materials science to its four major business units: Safety & Industrial, Transportation & Electronics, Health Care, and Consumer-based products. With an annual revenue of more than US $30 billion, the company currently has over 200 offices with 96,000 employees globally, and it holds more than 100,000 patents.

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Tung noted that each of 3M’s R&D Centers develops its own unique products and innovative processes. The company shares its patents across business units to encourage continuous, collaborative efforts to drive innovation, producing products that are “safer, faster, and last longer.”  He also stressed the vital role that 3M has played in working with governments to ensure sufficient supplies of essential personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers around the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taiwan-USA Trade and Investment Networking Center Opens in Taipei

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AmCham Taipei on December 18 participated in the opening ceremony of the Taiwan-USA Trade and Investment Networking Center. The center is the result a collaborative effort between the government-sponsored Taiwan External Trade and Development Council (TAITRA), the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the American State Offices Association (ASOA), and AmCham Taipei. It is designed to strengthen commercial ties between Taiwan and the U.S. by facilitating cooperation between business partners, and offering advisory, analysis, and referral services, among other functions.

TAITRA Chairman James Huang delivered the ceremony’s opening speech, highlighting the special partnership between Taiwan and the U.S., which he said has “enabled Taiwan to be one of the most productive members of the global economy.” In order to take this relationship to the next level, Huang said, a channel was needed to advance comprehensive coordination among Taiwanese and U.S. businesses. Out of this necessity, the idea for the center was born.

In his remarks, AIT Director Brent Christensen stressed the vision for the center as “a one-stop, all-purpose platform to advise and assist Taiwan and American enterprises in expanding two-way trade and investment between the United States and Taiwan.” He emphasized that trade between Taiwan and the U.S. increased by 13.6% in the first 11 months of 2019, and that both partners are important sources of investment for the other. He also stated his desire for the center to play a role in promoting the U.S. government’s SelectUSA Investment Summit, an annual conference held in Washington D.C.

Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua, who gave concluding remarks, pointed to the large amount of return investment by Taiwanese companies that have decided to reshore some of their high-value manufacturing operations from China as a result of the U.S.-China trade dispute. She said this development will make Taiwan an even more attractive location for international trade and investment.

The center is being housed within the TAITRA offices in the International Trade Building, 333 Keelung Rd., Sec. 1, part of the Taipei World Trade Center complex.