TECO Atlanta

WELCOME TO TECO ATLANTA!

News & Events >> 2006

Deputy Representative Stanley Kao speaks to Members of Georgia’s Marietta Metro Rotary Club

May 31, 2006

On Monday, May 22, 2006, Deputy Representative Stanley Kao of Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington DC spoke with the members of Georgia’s Marietta Metro Rotary Club at the Marietta Conference Center, north of Atlanta. Mr. Kao’s speech was titled “Here’s the Beef”, centering on bilateral relations and future partnership and potential between the U.S. and Taiwan.

Kao emphasized that, over the years, Taiwan has maintained a delicate balance of reliable and friendly relations with the U.S. Taiwan’s receipt of economic assistance from the U.S. in its early stages as the Republic of China, Taiwan, has made the country grateful to the U.S. Taiwan now maintains a responsible and active role in the international community, holding a leading role in areas of global humanitarian assistance. Mr. Kao stated that under the shadow of the economic giant, the People’s Republic of China (China), Taiwan’s role tends to be quietly played out with the “blood, sweat and tears” of Taiwanese diligence. With the help of the U.S. as a political prototype and devoted ally, Taiwan’s progression over the past 50 years, Kao states, is nothing less than an “economic miracle”. He asserts that Taiwan is now due for a “political miracle”, to bring Taiwan out of the shadow and into the arena of international trade. “Here’s the beef”, as Mr. Kao would put it.

The U.S. stands to benefit $4 to 6 billion USD from an FTA with Taiwan. The Republic of China (Taiwan) already contributes 2% of the WTO budget, more than all the countries in Africa combined, though Taiwan is only one-third the land size of Georgia. China, in relation, contributes 8% of the WTO budget, though it is 65 times larger in population and 250 times larger in land mass than Taiwan. Taiwan is an open economy with a transparent political system in the midst of a difficult trading region. The cultural connection and economic foothold that Taiwan has in China can provide windows of opportunity for the U.S. to enter into more open trade with the looming giant. Taiwan has progressed exponentially in the past 50 years, evolving from exports of “plastic shoes” and “paper umbrellas” to now being the number one exporter of IT products such as motherboards, LCD screens etc. It is one of the Four Tigers, along with Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea, and it is the 7th largest trading partner to the U.S. It is time for this “political miracle": a Free Trade Agreement between Taiwan and the U.S., and that’s the beef.

駐美國代表處高碩泰副代表蒞臨亞城演講

駐美國代表處高碩泰副代表應亞特蘭大台灣同鄉會之邀，前來亞特蘭大參加台灣同鄉會所主辦之台灣傳統週活動，駐亞特蘭大辦事處特別安排高副代表赴Marietta扶輪社作了一場演講，獲得該社社員熱烈歡迎。

高副代表演講中述及台灣與美國各項互惠互利關係，因為美國政府支持台灣自由民主，台灣才可能在中國崛起陰影中發展壯大。他也提到台灣近年來產業發展及經貿情勢，台美簽署自由貿易協定之好處等。台灣貢獻世界貿易組織預算百分之二，較所有非洲國家總和還多。呼籲國際社會支持台灣。

(click to enlarge)

Photo captions from left to right:

(1) 高副代表演講神情.
Deputy Representative Stanley Kao.

(2) 演講現場一角
Scene of the speech.

(3)

(4) 高副代表訪問亞特蘭大慈濟基金會
Deputy Representative Kao visited Tze Chi Foundation, Atlanta office and met with May Johnny Ford

(5) 吳處長曾於宿舍以晚宴歡迎高副代表，右為僑領駱思遷及呂志全僑務委員
Mr. Raymond Lo and John Lu posed with Deputy Representative Kao in DG Wu’ dinner party.

|Updated: 1/22/08