A Belated but Rousing Hsieh Nien Fan

Photo: Office of the President

AmCham Taipei’s 2020 Hsieh Nien Fan banquet was held successfully at the Grand Hyatt Taipei on August 25, despite a long postponement from the original March schedule due to the disruptions of COVID-19. Under the circumstances, this year’s celebration was especially meaningful, bringing together nearly 700 AmCham members and guests, including more than 130 government officials.

Attending the banquet for the fourth time – and the first since her inauguration for a second term, President Tsai Ing-wen delivered the keynote speech. AmCham Chairperson CW Chin and American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen made additional remarks.

Photo: Office of the President

Chin opened the ceremony by expressing his thanks to the Taiwan government for the support and cooperation given the Chamber in the past year. He especially praised the administration for its excellent performance in handling the coronavirus pandemic.

In her speech, President Tsai stated that the partnership between Taiwan and the U.S. was made even stronger in the face of the combined challenges from the pandemic and security concerns. That cooperation was exemplified by the recent signing of an MoU on health cooperation during the visit of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. Tsai urged that the bilateral relationship be further deepened by entering into negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. She emphasized that the Taiwan government is “committed to securing a robust investment environment to the benefit of us all.”

AIT Director Christensen commended Taiwan’s progress in advancing shared political, economic, and international values of the U.S. and Taiwan during the challenging times of COVID-19. “It has been our pleasure to work closely with Taiwan to share the Taiwan Model with both U.S. institutions and countries around the world,” he said. 

Besides the President, high-ranking Taiwanese officials that attended included Secretary General of the Presidential Office David Lee, Secretary-General of the  National Security Council Wellington Koo, Vice Premier Shen Jong-chin, Minister without Portfolio John Deng, Minister of the National Development Council Kung Min-hsin, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua, Chairperson of the Financial Supervisory Commission Huang Tien-mu, Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang, Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, Chairperson of the National Communications Commission Chen Yaw-shyang, and Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan. This event was also joined by several members of the Legislative Yuan and Taipei City Council.

A host of generous sponsors helped make the event possible: Platinum Sponsor Citi; Gold Sponsors Corning, Franklin Templeton Investments, and Standard Chartered Bank; Wine & Liquor Sponsors Diageo and Sergio Valente; Silver Sponsors 3M, HSBC, JTI, and Micron; Bronze Sponsors Air Products, Amgen, Baker McKenzie, Bechtel, Dun & Bradstreet, GE, Merck, Philip Morris Taiwan, and Semi; and General Sponsors Airbnb, Grand Hyatt Taipei, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, P&G, and the Tobacco Institute of the Republic of China.