As one of the most outstanding entrepreneurs in Taiwan, Shih established the Acer brand name and laid the foundation for Acer products to be sold worldwide, which helped boost Taiwan's international visibility, according to the Aug. 15 statement from the Office of the President.
Shih founded Acer in 1976, which is currently the world's fourth-largest personal computer manufacturer, earning US$11.32 billion in revenues in 2006, according to the company. Retiring from Acer in 2004, the 62-year-old Shih now serves as the chairperson of iD SoftCapital Inc., an investment and consulting firm.
In 2006, Time magazine profiled Shih in its"60 Years of Heroes of Asia" special issue, according to the Presidential Office statement. He was also selected as one of the "Stars of Asia" by Businessweek in 2004, and cited as a business visionary by the U.S. Cable News Network in 2003.
In the statement, Chen expressed his gratitude for Shih's acceptance of the appointment, firmly believing that Shih will apply his expertise to speak up for Taiwan in the international community.
"It is a serious responsibility, and I will definitely do my best," Shih said in an Aug. 15 statement from iD SoftCapital. He said he will make use of his experience in the information technology industry to communicate with other member states at the meeting.
In addition to discussing economic collaborations with other countries, Shih said he will particularly focus on promoting the "APEC Digital Opportunity Center" project and call on multinational hardware and software manufacturers to cooperate on the project.
The ADOC project was established by Taiwan in 2003 with an aim to bridge the digital divide among APEC member economies, according to ADOC.
One area ADOC can concentrate on is the One Laptop per Child initiative launched by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Shih noted in the statement. With advantages in computer hardware, Taiwan plays a key role in the project and should integrate resources from countries like the United States, Japan and South Korea to enhance the effort, he added.
Last year, Chen appointed Morris Chang, chairperson of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., as his APEC envoy. Early this month, former Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen was put forward as Chen's possible representative, but the Australian government reportedly declined, due to opposition from China.
Write to Allen Hsu at allenhsu@mail.gio.gov.tw