Lin Hsin-i, a former economy minister and vice premier, will lead Taiwan's delegation to APEC 2024 in Peru. China reportedly pressured Peru to reject Taiwan's first pick, former Vice President Chen Chien-jen, for being "too political."
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Taiwan's representative for APEC has been officially announced.
00:03Lin Xingyi, who previously served as vice-premier and economy minister, will lead Taiwan's delegation
00:10to the Economic Forum in Peru in November.
00:12Rhys Ayers joins us now live with more from Taipei.
00:15Rhys, what can you tell us about this pick?
00:21Well Joyce, 77-year-old Lin Xingyi certainly fits the bill.
00:25He's a current senior advisor to President Lai Ching-de and also to the Economic Development
00:32Committee.
00:33And over the last few decades, Lin has worn many, many, many hats in both the public and
00:38private sectors.
00:40Privately, he's got managerial experience in the automobile and insurance industries.
00:47In the public sector, he served as the economy minister and then as the vice-premier of Taiwan
00:55in the early 2000s under the Chen Shui-bian administration.
00:59Since then, he's served as an advisor to two further DPP presidents, including Tsai Ing-wen
01:05and of course, current President Lai Ching-de.
01:09He's also known for having a strong knowledge and understanding of Taiwan's industrial development
01:16and more generally, economics and world economy.
01:20He's also known for his diplomacy skills.
01:23Lin was actually part of the APEC delegation in 2000 and 2001, and he was then sent to
01:31APEC Korea 2005 as the lead delegate, where he actually met with the then-president of
01:38China, Hu Jintao, and they actually shook hands in a rare display of warming of relations
01:44between China and Taiwan.
01:48But perhaps most importantly for Lin is that he has no official party affiliation here
01:55in Taiwan.
01:56Now, that's key because Taiwan's first pick for APEC 2024 was actually Chen Jian-ren,
02:04and he was the former vice-president of Taiwan, and he was considered too political a pick
02:10for China, too senior.
02:12China vetoed that decision, which has now led to Lin being sent in his place.
02:19He's not quite as senior, and there are hopes with Lin that with his more humble approach
02:26to diplomacy and his mix of experience in the public and private sector, that not only
02:32will he be able to stimulate some economic opportunities for Taiwan, that also as current
02:39Chinese President Xi Jinping will be there in Peru, that Lin will be able to offer another
02:45olive branch of sorts to Beijing.