Chairman’s Message
Dear Members and friends,
2012 — Your ATBC flourished
We had another highly successful year. Please have a look at the report on the following pages.
Thank you, members, for your continuing support for our great business council.
Thanks too, to the numerous member companies and organisations that provided sponsorship and in-kind assistance for events and activities throughout the year. We promote all of you in each edition of the ATBC Bulletin.
Clayton Utz, the ATBC’s first National Sponsor, deserves our special thanks, including for helping us incorporate the ATBC as a company limited by guarantee. Mr Darren Fooks, a partner in the Queensland practice, played a leading. His colleague, Ms Margaret Wang, was indefatigable and a great champion of the cause.
I also record my appreciation for the advice and support of Ambassador Katharine Chang, Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia, and her many able staff, particularly Dr Lee Guann-jyh and his team from Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Our thanks also go to Representative Kevin Magee and his staff at the Australian Offices at Taipei and Kaohsiung and to John Langtry and his colleagues in the North Asia Branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra.
Vale Dr Jeffrey Koo
Those of us who knew him were deeply saddened to learn of the death on 6 December of Dr Jeffrey Koo, founder of the Chinatrust Commercial Bank 中國信託, the Asian Bankers Association and second Chairman of
our counterpart, the ROC-Australia Business Council (ROCABC). Beginning in the early 1990s, Jeffrey led several missions to Australia; he co-chaired eight Joint Conferences. On behalf of members, the ATBC has sent condolences to his widow and children and to the CIECA 中華民國工商協進會, which he founded and chaired for many years.
New Members
I am delighted to welcome another new member, Mr David Howard-Jones, Oliver Wyman.
Chairman Ross Maddock
19 December 2012
From all of us at ATBC, we extend our thanks and appreciation for your support during 2012. We wish you, your family and colleagues all the joys of the Festive Season and Happy New Year of the Snake.
Most important political events in Taiwan
The reelection in March of President Ma. He and Vice President Wu Den-yih will serve until early 2016.
President Ma and his government finished the year still very unpopular with the electors. The main reasons are the feeble economy, low wage growth and perceptions of poor economic management.
Taiwan’s economy
Growth has slowed almost to a standstill. At best, the prospects for a strong pick-up in the first half of 2013 are not good. Government agencies, perhaps a little optimistically, predict growth for 2013 will be over 3 percent.
Ameliorating cross strait relations
The pace of improvement slowed. As we predicted early in the year, the new Chinese Communist Party leaders are pushing Taiwan’s KMT to begin to work in earnest on ‘political issues’.
The opposition DPP is struggling to come up with a new approach to China that won’t scare the broader electorate. But it won’t commit to any version of ‘one China’ or the ’92 consensus’.
Taiwan’s democratic institutions
Opinion surveys reveal increasing numbers of Taiwan people think that their country is going backwards on press freedoms, freedom of speech, independence of the judiciary and protection of human rights.
Australia-Taiwan relations
Seem to be in good shape. The Hon Craig Emerson MP, Minister for Trade and Competitiveness, visited Kaohsiung for our 26th Joint Conference, the first visit to Taiwan by an Australian minister for trade for a decade.
Ambassador Katharine Chang completed her first year as Taiwan’s Representative at Canberra.
In September, Director General Joseph Chow joined her team, heading the Taiwan office at Sydney. He had previously served at Canberra.
Memorable Australia-Taiwan business events
Over 600 Taiwan entrepreneurs and business leaders came to Sydney in April for the 18th Congress of the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce (WTTC). Congratulations, Mr Jonathan Huang, the WTTC President who led the team that made it happen. ATBC supported the event, including by persuading the federal Minister for Energy, Resources and Tourism, Martin Ferguson, to speak at the Congress Dinner.
The 27th Joint Conference of the ATBC and its Taiwan counterpart, ROCABC, Kaohsiung, 3–5 September. Well attended, good speakers, plenty of new business leads, the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness, Dr Craig Emerson, attended and addressed the delegates. Taiwan’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Dr Shih Yen-hsiang, also attended.
Melbourne seminar on new directions for Australia-Taiwan relations, November. Moderated by the APEC Studies Centre, supported by the ATBC and the TCCs. Over sixty people attended.Gala dinner in September at Taipei, in honour of retiring Chairman of the ROCABC, Mr Edward Chen. We presented Edward with the third ‘Sir Charles Court Award’ for an outstanding contribution to Australia-Taiwan relations.
ATBC stronger
Incorporated as a company limited by guarantee.
Two new Vice Chairmen, Mr Anker Hung (Minatek Pty Ltd) and Mr Mark Dorney (RedBridge Grant Samuel). Membership continues to grow.
New Chairman for ROCABC
The Chairman of the China Steel Corporation (CSC), Dr Tsou Juo-chi, was elected Chairman of the ROCABC.
Australia Taiwan trade and investment
The most significant development? CSC’s investment in Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill project.