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Former Vice President Siew to Attend APEC in Beijing

2014/10/14 | By Judy Li

Former Vice President Vincent Siew will attend the 2014 leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Beijing on Nov. 10-11, on behalf of President Ma Ying-jeou.

Although Ma earlier expressed his intention to attend the APEC forum this year, hoping to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and hold a cross-strait summit meeting with him, that intention is believed to have been shattered by the scandal involving Vice Minister H. Y. Chang of the Mainland Affairs Council, who allegedly leaked national secrets to China, and by Xi's recent declaration on the “one nation, two systems” policy of relations between Taiwan and China.

Siew has attended APEC forums several times, is well versed in economic and diplomatic issues, and has good relationships with many foreign leaders. This year he will likely meet U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi, along with other national leaders, during the upcoming forum. (JL)