By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) left on Sunday for an eight-day visit to Indonesia, where she is to engage in discussions about bilateral trade and regional security issues, her office said in a press release yesterday.
Tsai is scheduled to meet with government officials, academics and business representatives to exchange views on trade prospects between Taiwan and Indonesia, following the launch of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations earlier this month, said Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福), the spokesperson for Tsai’s Thinking Taiwan Foundation.
The former DPP presidential candidate is also planning to visit Taiwanese businesspeople residing in the country and tour energy development sites, Hung said.
Tsai said that the trip was important because Indonesia was Taiwan’s top investment destination before the 1990s and Jakarta has played a critical role in the formation of the RCEP amid the emergence of the Southeast Asian market as one of the largest in the world, Hung said.
“Tsai thinks that Taiwan should respond to the intensifying regional economic integration by trying to create business opportunities for local industries,” Hung said.
Aside from Jakarta, Tsai will visit Bandung, the capital of West Java Province, as well as other key cities to hold talks with Taiwanese businesspeople and gain a better understanding of the investment climate.
After losing the presidential election in January last year, Tsai has visited various countries, including India and the US, in an effort to formulate a more comprehensive perspective on Taiwan’s future. She had planned to visit Vietnam earlier this year, but the trip was canceled due to pressure from China.