Taiwans Technoentrepreneurial Diplomacy
The nation demonstrated its soft power in a series of events celebrating the UN General Assembly in New York.
Taiwan's tech-savvy entrepreneurs not only help strengthen Taiwan's economic power through their efforts, but also shape the country's diplomatic dynamism and build a reservoir of sympathy for the country.
The recently held Concordia 2022 summit in New York was attended by many important international figures in the fields of politics, finance, culture, environmental protection and human rights, and gathered many Taiwanese officials and businessmen. In fact, the summit, which is supposed to coincide with the UN General Assembly, is being called a 'mini UN'.
The summit highlighted Taiwan's undisputed global leadership in electronics, particularly chip manufacturing, where President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) thanked the summit organizers in a recorded speech and discussed Taiwan's development.
A notable feature of Tsai's virtual presence was that she was included in the list of female presidents of the Republic of China (Taiwan), unlike some UN-affiliated organizations that tend to refer to Taiwan as "Chinese Taipei".
HUMAN HELP
Alex Shi (史立軍), deputy secretary-general of Taiwan's International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), said Taiwan provides a lot of technological assistance to developing countries, although it is "primarily motivated by humanitarian reasons".
"We provide subsidized loans, technology, education, vocational training, humanitarian aid... these are the main elements of our aid package," he said in Taipei. The times
This expansion of aid stands in stark contrast to China's commercial lending for projects in developing countries, which are trapped by Beijing's debt and end up pledging their strategic assets as collateral for loan defaults, as happened recently in Sri Lanka.
ICDF is active in Central and South America, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia and West Asia, Africa. Many countries known for their disappointing experiences with China welcome this kind of support.
Shea said that the ICDF works closely with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and provides it with special funds to implement projects in Romania, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan and Moldova.
"Our loans are given at very low interest rates according to OECD regulations. We have a strategic partnership with USAID. We are here at the Concord Summit to raise awareness in Taiwan and work with the US authorities," Shai said.
Digital Affairs Minister Audrey Tang (唐鳳) highlighted Taiwan's technological progress and high level of innovation and sophistication. Taiwanese technopreneurs, many of whom had traveled to New York for the UN General Assembly, mingled with American businessmen.
INNOVATION
Arthur Huang (黃謙智), CEO of Taipei's Miniwiz Co, has taken a major step forward for the recycling industry, which aims to reduce pollution and resource depletion, in line with the UN's key social development goal of conservation and inclusion. : in consumption and production.
"You could say that we turn waste into good and useful materials... [H]eruption is valuable and should not be wasted for the benefit of our environment and our planet," he revealed of his outfit while talking to the Taipei Times.
"Governments have enormous power to play a role in the circular economy," Huang added. "The perception of waste in the minds of consumers is still negative and needs to change. The first step is to make people understand that things can be made from garbage," he said.
Huang added that his company is targeting high consumption industries such as textiles, plastics, steel and aluminum to reduce carbon emissions.
Another much-discussed techno-entrepreneurial diplomacy event, Seeking Transformative Solutions through Innovative Partnership Mechanisms, organized by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, featured a number of prominent speakers, including the minister. Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) expressed his point of view in a video.
Allen John Koo (樊亞倫), vice president of Ever III & Partners, a Taiwan-based consulting firm focused on the new economy, innovation and "bringing Taiwan closer to the world," said his company designs and manages projects to improve innovation. . connect resources between the ecosystem and regional actors, including startups, government agencies, multinationals and local businesses, adding that "our flagship program" is the Taiwan Startup Stadium, which helps Taiwanese startups go global.
"We are the supplier of the Startup Island Taiwan brand to the National Development Council of Taiwan," he said.
Ku said that although Taiwan is not officially a member of the United Nations, it is working towards the 17 United Nations Social Development Goals (SDGs) and has made good progress towards meeting those goals.
"The world has already started to notice Taiwan's progress, even though most countries have not made much progress," Ku said.
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