CTPECC Introduction
The Chinese Taipei Pacific Economic Cooperation Committee (hereinafter referred to as CTPECC) was established in 1984.
In November 1986, CTPECC submitted its membership application at the 5th PECC Conference and was approved by all members; since then, CTPECC has become a full member of PECC.
The board members of CTPECC are composed of representatives from business, government, and academia.
The CTPECC Secretariat is located within the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research and the Secretary General is Dr. Alex HSU. He is also an Associate Research Fellow at the Division of International Affairs of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research.
1. The Chinese Taipei’s process of joining the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
Chinese Taipei used to participate as an observer attended by the Chairman Koo Chen-fu at the second and third PECC conferences. During the third conference in Bali, Indonesia, CTPECC indicated to PECC that it is willing to participate as a full member. PECC is an organization composed of scholars, business leaders, and government officials who participated through private status (Tripartite organization). CTPECC’s application for membership was declined due to political factors.
In order to achieve the objective of participating as a full member in the 4th PECC Seoul Conference in 1985, the Executive Yuan’s "Participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Steering Group '' established the Chinese Taipei Pacific Economic Cooperation Committee (CTPECC) on February 18, 1984. Representatives of CTPECC were selected to participate in the various seminars convened by the PECC task forces.
After many considerations, it was decided in January 1985 to follow the precedent of the PBEC Republic of China Association and applied for membership under the name "Chinese Member Committee of the PECC in Taipei" during the PECC Standing Committee meeting held in Tokyo. Unfortunately, some of the Standing Committee members opposed this decision. Therefore, CTPECC participated as an observer in the 4th PECC Conference.
After the 4th PECC Conference, we participated more actively in various PECC activities, and published papers in the seminars of various PECC task forces, providing information and experiences on development of trade policies, foreign investment, fisheries, mining and animal husbandry. These actions were praised by the other committee members.
When the PECC Standing Committee meeting was held in Tokyo in August 1986, we applied for membership once again. The Standing Committee decided that China and us should have equal rights and position to join PECC as a full member at the same time. The PECC Standing Committee requested us to apply with the same name in the Olympics, “Chinese Taipei”. For the other PECC members, they will use "Member Committee" in the official documents of PECC to facilitate the application of our membership. The year 1986 was the unprecedented year for us to break the diplomatic deadlock by participating in PECC.
In September 1986, the organizer of the 5th PECC conference, Mr. Eric Trigg of the Canadian Committee, sent an official invitation to invite us joining the PECC as a full member with equal rights and position with the name "Chinese Taipei Pacific Economic Cooperation Committee ''(hereinafter referred to as CTPECC). After many consultations with relevant authorities, we accepted this arrangement and finally became a full member at the 5th PECC Conference held in Vancouver, Canada in November 1986.
2. The establishment of CTPECC Committee
Since CTPECC was admitted as a full member in 1986, we participated actively in the activities of the PECC task forces, which was extremely helpful to enhance our position in the Asia-Pacific region. CTPECC’s contributions to PECC had also been recognized by all the other members.
In view of the increasing frequency of PECC activities and the increasing importance of its position in the Asia-Pacific region, it was necessary to strengthen the organization and the financial structure of the association. The Chinese Taipei Pacific Economic Cooperation Committee (CTPECC) was formally established on July 11, 1991. The Board of Directors elected Mr. Koo Chen-fu as the first Chairman and Dr. Jeffrey Koo as the Vice Chairman. The Secretariat is located at the Division of International Affairs of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research.
3. The goal of CTPECC participating in PECC
Essentially, the PECC is an important international organization for economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. PECC also plays a key role in consultation and advice on APEC’s major initiatives and plans. Therefore, the participation of CTPECC is to assist the government in researching and analyzing significant economic cooperation plans, to strive for greater opportunities to participate in cooperation mechanisms and dialogues, and to improve our reputation in the Asia-Pacific region. Moreover, through all kinds of activities we participate in the Asia-Pacific region, the civil society can become more cognizant of CTPECC’s achievements and enhance their international perspective.