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AmCham Releases Its 2024 White Paper

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Nearly 40 reporters from local and international media outlets gathered at the Regent Taipei on June 6 for the launch of AmCham’s 2024 Taiwan White Paper. The press conference, led by AmCham Taiwan Chairperson Dan Silver and President Patrick P. Lin, was followed by a luncheon for members and their guests. 

Lin opened the event by emphasizing the significance of the White Paper, which has served as the Chamber’s most important advocacy document for several decades. It represents the interests of the international business community and provides a platform for AmCham members to express recommendations to secure Taiwan’s economic future, as well as to improve U.S.-Taiwan bilateral economic relations. Lin further noted that AmCham member companies maintain strong commitment to Taiwan and are confident in its potential for growth. 

AmCham Taiwan President Patrick P. Lin and Chairperson Dan Silver
present the 2024 Taiwan White Paper during the June 6 press conference.

In this year’s White Paper, AmCham members urged the Taiwan government to work with industry to enhance the investment climate, strengthen resilience, and amplify Taiwan’s strategic economic positioning in the face of an uncertain future.

The Chamber lauded the encouraging progress of the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade and urged both governments to establish a well-defined roadmap outlining the execution of agreements under the Initiative, and subsequently use it to move towards a bilateral trade agreement. AmCham also called on the U.S. government to ensure continued bipartisan support for Taiwan’s defense, finalize the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, and advance efforts to remove double taxation from bilateral investments. The U.S. government should also normalize high-level official visits and promote Taiwan’s inclusion in international organizations, including the World Health Organization, Interpol, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

President Patrick P. Lin and Chairperson Dan Silver answer questions from the media.

During the press conference, Silver stressed that Taiwan currently finds itself in a “golden opportunity” to leverage the unprecedented level of international attention and goodwill it enjoys, and that there is no way to know how long this attention will last. He stressed that there is “no time to waste” in making Taiwan the region’s most attractive investment destination. Silver also summarized the status of the 2023 White Paper, with 5 issues solved, and 25 in good progress, out of a total of 95 raised.   

The press conference was followed by a luncheon attended by nearly 150 AmCham members and their guests, as well as special guest Minister of the National Development Council (NDC) Liu Chin-ching. Following a presentation by Silver, Minister Liu was invited to the stage to receive a copy of the White Paper on behalf of the Taiwan government.  

Chairperson Silver presents the 2024 Taiwan White Paper
to Minister Liu Chin-ching on behalf of the Taiwan government.

In his remarks, Liu expressed his gratitude to AmCham for its long-term support, and for providing advice on improvements to Taiwan’s investment environment, further strengthening U.S.-Taiwan economic and trade relations. AmCham and the NDC look forward to arranging meetings to discuss specific issues presented in the White Paper in the coming year. 

Members of AmCham’s Board of Governors, Minister Liu and representatives of the American Institute in Taiwan were present at the luncheon.

AmCham Calls on Taiwan to Step up and Seize “Golden Opportunity” at 2022 White Paper Release Event

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AmCham Calls for U.S. to Further Engage Taiwan on Global Challenges at 2022 Hsieh Nien Fan

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2021 Annual General Meeting Advances Digital, Chamber Transformations

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For the first time, AmCham held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) online on November 16. The meeting headline was the resounding approval of the Merger Plan to transform AmCham Taipei into AmCham Taiwan, a process begun almost a year ago at our last AGM. To underscore the significance of the occasion, over 200 participants heard remarks from two special guests: American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk and Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the United States Representative Hsiao Bi-khim. AmCham Chairperson CW Chin, President Andrew Wylegala, and Senior Director of Finance & Administration Jessica Chen summarized the Chamber’s achievements and status, which include the largest financial surplus in a decade, as well as the largest number of members in our 70-year history. Chin announced the founding of AmCham’s newest industry committee covering semiconductors. Finally, an update to the Chamber’s Articles of Association was approved.

 

Remarks by VIP Guest Speakers

In remarks warmly congratulating AmCham Taiwan, Representative Hsiao noted how significant the Chamber’s contributions have been to the U.S.-Taiwan bilateral relationship. Furthermore, its policy recommendations have greatly enhanced Taiwan’s business environment. Hsiao also emphasized Taiwan’s strong desire to achieve a Bilateral Trade Agreement through close collaboration with AmCham.

AIT Director Sandra Oudkirk, in turn, underscored the closeness of the AIT-AmCham relationship, exemplified by the number of Chamber events she has recently joined, or will join in the coming weeks. She then provided a comprehensive overview of leading initiatives and sectors of shared interest, singling out public health and medicine, semiconductors, smart mobility, 5G, and cybersecurity as fields meriting the closest attention through our private-public partnership.

 

Practicing resilience to keep business moving

Taking NGOs and for-profit companies online for governance meetings is new in Taiwan. Like “the making of laws and sausage,” the behind-the-scenes work of producing a first-of-its-kind virtual meeting under strict oversight is best observed at a distance, if at all. The determined staff of AmCham Taiwan had to overcome innumerable challenges, which included a rare internet outage at our building a mere 15 hours before meeting’s initiation, and the challenge of ensuring voting procedures worked for users joining via desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. Identifying and documenting voting participants and achieving our mandated quorum were challenges, but ones that, pulling together, we surmounted.

 

With a lot of help from our friends  

AmCham could never have navigated the complexities of still-evolving regulator guidelines without the extensive pro bono support of law firm member Winkler Partners. We are also grateful to Cisco for providing us with a robust platform for the webinar, Deloitte for auditing our balloting, Grant Thornton for providing financial advice, and Baker McKenzie for a hand with revising our Articles of Association.

 

Election Results

This year’s AGM was separated from voting for the 2022 Board of Governors and Supervisors, which was accomplished entirely by mail for the first time. The election results can be viewed here.

The 14 staff members of AmCham Taiwan wish to express gratitude for the support received throughout this year of challenge and change from the current Board. We also congratulate the incoming Board, and the Board candidates, who continue to impress and inspire us with their drive, can-do spirit, and volunteerism.

 

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.

2021 Annual General Meeting and Board of Governors & Supervisors Election Result

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AmCham is pleased to announce the results of the 2021 Virtual Annual General Meeting held Tuesday, November 16, 2021. The election results were compiled by Deloitte & Touche. The elected Governors and Supervisors are listed in alphabetical order.

2022-2023 Governors (Serving a two-year term, beginning January 1, 2022):

2022 Governors (Serving a one-year term, beginning January 1, 2022)

 

 

2022 Supervisors (Serving a one-year term, beginning January 1, 2022):

 

Other Business Items Brought to the Annual General Meetings were all approved.

Congratulations to the newly elected Governors and Supervisors!

AmCham Taiwan Hosts 2021 White Paper Press Conference

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AmCham Taiwan held a virtual press conference on June 23 to announce the release of its 2021 Taiwan White Paper. The online event was hosted by AmCham Chairperson CW Chin and the Chamber’s new president, Andrew Wylegala, and was joined by around 30 members of the local and international media, as well as several government officials and Chamber members.

Chin opened the event by highlighting the importance of the White Paper and its 25-year history as an advocacy document representing the interests of the Taiwan business community, as well as a platform for the Chamber to articulate its vision for U.S.-Taiwan bilateral economic relations. Chin then introduced AmCham Taiwan’s new President, Andrew Wylegala, a veteran U.S. foreign service officer in the Department of Commerce.

In his remarks, Wylegala touched on key elements of this year’s White Paper, such as AmCham Taiwan’s multi-track advocacy strategy and the newly launched Taiwan Commercial Initiative (TCI), featured in the publication’s Messages to Washington section. In addition to restarting the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Talks, the TCI urges the U.S. government to continue and expand the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, launch public-private partnerships involving industry and government agencies on both sides, and include Taiwan in plurilateral talks between the U.S. and other regional partners. It culminates in negotiations for a U.S.-Taiwan Bilateral Trade Agreement.

See the full 2021 Taiwan White Paper presentation:

Chin concluded by stressing the need for Taiwan to adapt to the evolving world economy by accelerating digital transformation, increasing bilingualism, and addressing energy concerns. In addition, Chairperson Chin also highlighted that nearly 40% of the 2020 White Paper issues have been resolved or achieved significant progress – a new record for the publication.

During the media Q&A session, Wylegala emphasized that the Chamber will continue to support its member companies with resources and advocacy services should Taiwan extend the current Level 3 restrictions. Chin added that AmCham will strive to represent the interests of foreign-owned small and medium-sized businesses in Taiwan through its annual White Paper and other channels.

Regarding the much-anticipated TIFA talks, set to take place shortly, Wylegala said that he expects good progress as previous major trade impediments, such as Taiwan’s ban on the import of certain U.S. meat products, have now been cleared and new challenges, such as supply chain resilience, are being discussed.

53rd Annual Hsieh Nien Fan a Smashing Success

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AmCham held its 2021 Hsieh Nien Fan banquet at the Grand Hyatt Taipei on April 21 – its 53rd such annual event and the first to be hosted by the Chamber since its name change from “AmCham Taipei” to “AmCham Taiwan.” This year’s Hsieh Nien Fan was attended by more than 691 AmCham members and their guests, and included a record number of 157 government officials. It was a night of great food, numerous photo opportunities, and lasting connections between attendees.

President Tsai Ing-wen delivered the keynote speech, and additional remarks were provided by AmCham Chairperson CW Chin and the American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen. This year, a few friends from Washington, including U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, Counselor of the State Department Derek Chollet, and Commerce Department Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia Richard Steffens, delivered video remarks affirming their commitment to deepening U.S.-Taiwan relations.

President Tsai congratulated AmCham Taiwan on its 70th anniversary and thanked the Chamber for “always being a dependable partner to Taiwan and the United States during many critical junctures in our relationship.” She expressed gratitude to AmCham Taiwan and the US-Taiwan Business Council for establishing the US-Taiwan Bilateral Trade Agreement Coalition to promote BTA negotiations.

Tsai also thanked Leo Seewald, who had served as AmCham’s president on an interim basis since last fall, for playing a leading role in the business community and contributing to the U.S.-Taiwan partnership. At the same time, she congratulated Andrew Wylegala for taking on the role of the new AmCham Taiwan President.

Director Christensen in his speech praised AmCham members for playing a critical in the U.S.-Taiwan partnership. He emphasized that U.S.-Taiwan ties have never been stronger and expressed his belief that the two partners can work together to come up with innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. The Chamber’s role will become even more critical, Christensen said, “as this economic and commercial relationship continues to expand and develop.”

Besides President Tsai and Former Vice President Chen Chien-jen, high-ranking Taiwanese officials in attendance included Secretary-General of the Presidential Office David Lee, Secretary-General of the National Security Council Wellington Koo, Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan Lee Meng-yen, Secretary-General of the Legislative Yuan Lin Chih-chua, Minister without Portfolio John Deng, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong, Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Lin Minn-tsong, Chairman of the National Communications Commission Chen Yaw-shyang, and Chairperson of the Taiwan Council for U.S. Affairs Yang Jen-ni. For the first time in the Chamber’s history, representatives from Taiwan’s six municipalities attended this event. They included New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan, and deputy mayors from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung.

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A host of generous sponsors helped make the event possible: Platinum Sponsor Citi; Gold Sponsors Franklin Templeton Investments, Corning, and Standard Chartered Bank; Wine & Liquor Sponsors Diageo and Sergio Valente; Silver Sponsors 3M, Amgen, HSBC, JTI, Micron, and Semi; Bronze Sponsors Air Products, Baker McKenzie, Bechtel, Dun & Bradstreet, GE, Gilead, Invisalign, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Philip Morris Taiwan; and General Sponsors Grand Hyatt Taipei, IBM, Intel, Pfizer, P&G, Qualcomm, and the Tobacco Institute of the Republic of China.

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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.