PCOO_insidepage_NEWS
14 November 2015

APEC NEWS RELEASES


Taiwan’s former Vice President to attend APEC Leaders’ Meeting in behalf of President Ma —TECO
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Chinese Taipei’s former Vice President Vincent Siew, who was recognized for the “economic miracle” in his nation, has been tasked to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) next week.

Citing a report from the office of Chinese Taipei’s President Ma Ying-jeou, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office(TECO) in Manila said Siew will attend the meetings in behalf of Ma.

Siew is “well-versed in economic and trade diplomacy, and multilateral trade negotiations.”

It added that he has already built “strong relationships” with leaders of APEC because he had attended APEC summits a total of six times as minister of economic affairs and presidential representative.

“President Ma believes the former vice president’s expertise, background, experience, and connections will undoubtedly substantively enhance the nation’s influence in the trade regime within the Asia Pacific, and that is why he has again invited former Vice President Siew to serve as his representative,” President Ma’s statement said.

Siew is widely recognized in Chinese Taipei as one of the architects of the “economic miracle” that transformed it from one of the less developed Asian economies into one of Asia’s economic tigers, as well as a global leader in innovation and technology development.

It is Siew’s “continuous efforts” that led to Chinese Taipei’s membership in APEC in 1991, and its accession to the World Trade Organization in 2002.

Siew, who will be arriving on November 16, has a master’s degree in international law and diplomacy from National Chengchi University in Taipei.

He also has honorary doctorates from the Ohio State University in the US, Rangsit University in Thailand, Sungkyunkwan University in Korea, National Chiayi University in Chinese Taipei, National Taipei University of Science and Technology, and the National Chengchi University.

The Philippines follows the One China Policy, and recognizes that there is only one China–Mainland China–and views Chinese Taipei as a renegade island.

The policy only allows Chinese Taipei’s representative, and not its president, to attend the APEC meetings. (PCOO-APEC Communications Team)


Academic collaboration could prop up innovation, says foreign expert
Greater collaboration between colleges and universities will make new ideas being developed to reach more people and eventually turning innovation to produce profit, a researcher and a member of the New Zealand private sector, said on Friday.

During the APEC Business Advisory Council’s (ABAC) special session entitled “Dialogue with APEC Voices of the Future Delegates”, the issue of getting accessed to research output and innovation was raised.

ABAC was asked to recommend specific initiatives that colleges and universities should undertake to facilitate the development of a young population who can contribute greatly to innovation in the Asia Pacific region.

As a response, Anthony Nowell, a research leader from New Zealand, said the key is forging collaboration between academic institutions involved in research with the government acting as regulator.

“I think that the word collaboration is a very important word when it comes to getting the best innovation, what is out there at the moment,” Nowell told the delegates that are mostly composed of young people from different APEC economies.

“We don’t see quite enough frankly. We talk about institutions, thousands of institutions around the world because the founding mechanisms institutions have tend to be competitive.”

However, these academic institutions do not usually share their ideas and Nowell said he believes giving governments authority to facilitate much more collaboration between institutions and get the ideas flowing across the border would be a great help.

He also said the this collaboration must not be limited by boundaries or borders, adding ideas should flow freely whether these are national or internal borders.

For instance, in the Philippines, there must be tie ups between UP and Ateneo, he said.

“How do you get the innovation flow occurring? That is a very important issue to my mind,” he said.

Although there are many people who have bright ideas, their research outputs are often left sitting on library shelves without seeing the light of the day, he said, noting this is actually the real problem.

Also, Nowell raised the issue on inaccessible big data that could aid people to innovate.

There is a huge amount of data coming out of researchers that is not being accessed or used, he said.

“I think once again, finding the right mechanism to get access to big data is going to open up a whole new world of innovative ideas from the work that has been done before,” Nowell said.

ABAC has hosted the dialogue with young people from across different APEC economies to prepare them to become future leaders and innovators in the region in the coming years. (PCOO-APEC Communications Team)


Palace joins other countries in condemning Paris attacks
Malacanang condemned the simultaneous attacks in France on Friday that killed more than 100 people saying it showed not only premeditated act of violence but also the cruelty that “demands the greatest indignation from the world.”

“Today, we witnessed the merciless face of terrorism again. Over a hundred people are dead as bombs and automatic rifle fire claimed the lives of innocent civilians in Paris,” Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a statement on Saturday aired over dzRB Radyo Ng Bayan.

“The Philippines mourns the dead and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with France. At a time that demands heightened security from all of us, we ask Filipinos in Paris to heed the instructions of the authorities and for all of us to cooperate and be vigilant here at home.”

Valte said the Department of Foreign Affairs has been in contact with the Philippine Embassy in Paris but so far, they have not yet received report of any Filipino injuries or casualties.

The Philippine Embassy is ready and is continuing to monitor the situation should assistance be required to be expended to any Filipino citizen there whether tourist or resident.

Filipinos who have relatives in Paris can access the DFA website to get information about the situation of their loved ones.

“The trunk line, the fax line, all the contact numbers are there. Please go to the website should you need to have the details of our Paris embassy,” she said.

To heighten security measures being implemented in the country, especially as the country hosts the APEC Leaders’ Meeting, Valte told the radio station that the Philippine National Police was already put in full alert status nationwide.

“Let me emphasize that this is standard after the occurrence of a suspected terrorist attack in other countries or in the event of a national calamity,” she said.

Philippine authorities are just taking their usual precautions, she said, noting the PNP’s full alert status is also in line with the alert level being implemented for the APEC summit.

Asked if there will more changes in the security measures being implemented, she said the country’s security establishment is already monitoring the situation and it is expected to carryout the necessary steps to fine-tune the existing security plans. PND (as)


President Aquino to actively participate on ASEAN discussions on regional issues, says Palace
President Aquino will push for the country’s interest when he attends the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia next week immediately after the hosting of the APEC economic leaders summit in Manila, a Palace official said on Saturday.

In a radio interview, Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that compared to other fora, the ASEAN Summit has a set agenda agreed by the leaders about the major issue they will discuss.

Valte told dzRB Radyo ng Bayan that the President will participate through interventions on regional issues that will be raised by the other in ASEAN members or even by the Philippines.

“I don’t want to preempt the President on the interventions that we will be making but, as always, it is the national interest that the President will continue to push for in fora such as the ASEAN.”

One of the major issues is the dispute in the West Philippine Sea. China does not want the issue be discussed in the Manila event. The US on the other hand, wants to raise the territorial row.

But Valte said that traditionally, APEC is purely a discussion on economic issues and does not delve on matters like territorial disputes. PND (as)


Philippines stands with France as Palace condemns terrorist attacks in Paris
President Benigno S. Aquino III joined world leaders Saturday in condemning the recent spate of mass shootings and explosions in Paris, France that left hundreds of innocent civilians dead, according to reports.

“Terror and brutality have plunged the City of Light, Paris, into the darkness of horror and grief. The Philippines and its people stand in solidarity with the people of Paris and all of France, in this time of deepest sorrow and the gravest outrage against the perpetrators of these crimes,” President Aquino said in a statement.

“The deaths of over a hundred in the attack on the Bataclan Concert Hall, the vicinity of the Stade de France, and on restaurants in the city center, were atrocities that demand a united voice from the world in condemnation and grief,” he added.

President Aquino, meanwhile, reassured Filipinos that the government is taking all necessary precautions but has appealed for public vigilance and cooperation in light of the incident.

“The PNP (Philippine National Police) is on alert and our security forces are assessing the situation, including the continuing evaluation of our security procedures. There is no credible threat registered at this time but let us all be cooperative and vigilant,” he said.

President Aquino added that the Department of Foreign Affairs will be issuing updates on the situation in Paris and has been directed to render all necessary assistance to our countrymen in France.

“In our time of need, France and her people stood shoulder to shoulder with the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. We stand with France now, in the firm belief that the light must never dim in Paris,” he said. PND (hdc)


Young Filipino delegate to APEC: Invest in innovation centers in universities
A young Filipino delegate urged government and private sector officials attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit to invest on innovation centers inside the universities.

Paolo Monteiro, a Filipino youth representative to the APEC Voices of the Future delegates, emphasized the importance of quality education for inclusive growth.

“Quality education results in excellent goods and services,” he said. “Universities are great incubators of ideas.”

At the special session dialogue with APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) held Friday afternoon here in the capital city, Monteiro said that investment on quality education by the 21 member economies in Asia-Pacific will encourage more young people to invent and innovate more new technologies.

“Better education among work force encourages innovative entrepreneurship which in turn would greatly benefit all APEC economies,” he said.

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, an ABAC member, agreed with Montero that quality education may bring innovation, which is a “key factor in accelerating growth.”

“The role of private sector is to create formal linkage between industry and education,” he said.

For his part, Allan Zeman, another ABAC member from Hong Kong, said education now is “falling behind” where “students today are smarter than their teachers.”

“Education must be the lead. It is really important because that’s our future,” he said.

Youth leaders from 17 APEC member-economies gathered at Fairmont Hotel in Makati on Friday night for the annual APEC Voices of the Future.

VOF is an opportunity for young leaders and educators to participate in the discussions with ABAC leaders during the APEC Leaders week.

Launched in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, this year’s youth program is immersed in a rich culture-oriented and multilateral dialogue that is focused on APEC priorities.

Some of the topics that were discussed were the importance of addressing climate change, investment in human capital and education, and sustainable growth for small and medium enterprises. (PCOO-APEC Communications Team)


What are youth concerned about the future? They tell APEC business leaders: Climate change jobs, and education
Youth leaders from 17 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member-economies are concerned about climate change, jobs, and education. This is what came out during their special dialogue with members of the APEC Business Advisory Council Friday afternoon.

Alexis Wagner from Canada started with her call for zero tariff on Green goods, and for comprehensive solutions to the current climate crisis.

“It is imperative for APEC to remove tariffs on environmental goods,” she said. “Whole-government solutions are needed to address environmental challenges — in trade policies and environmental regulations.”

Taking off from the September meetings at the United Nations on Sustainable Development Goals that included climate action, Wagner noted that much of the world’s economic growth has been from the extraction and use of non-renewable natural resources.

This type of growth has affected the environment as well as sustainable growth, she said.

“Everyone recognizes that connecting with nature is good for people’s health, the economy, and prosperity…but there is a disconnect with nature not just among youth but among people of all ages,” Wagner said.

“I hope APEC addresses this issue, and make Nature and our natural heritage more accessible so that environmental protection is embedded in all societies. For the future generation, I hope it is at the forefront in conferences such as this,” she added.

Wang Zhuo Ru from China said that as her country slows down from its “high-speed” growth pattern, it has made “job creation and innovation its motto.”

With China encouraging start-ups and entrepreneurships to do this, “young people, the most dynamic [demographic segment] are the best to [take up the challenge] for self-employment and innovations,” she said.

Paolo Monteiro from the Philippines urged ABAC to invest in quality education as this would result in more young people encouraged to invent and innovate more new technologies.

“Quality education results in excellent goods and services,” Monteiro said. “Universities are great incubators of ideas.”

“Better education among work force encourages innovative entrepreneurship which in turn would greatly benefit all APEC economies,” he added.

The annual APEC Voices of the Future is an opportunity for young leaders and educators to participate in the discussions with ABAC leaders during the APEC Leaders week.

Launched in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, this year’s youth program includes culture-oriented and multilateral dialogue that is focused on APEC priorities. (PCOO-APEC Communications Team)