Harry Ho-jen Tseng
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of China (Taiwan)
June 17, 2021
(As Prepared for Delivery)
Greetings from Taipei!
It is a great pleasure to attend the opening ceremony of the GCTF Virtual Conference on New Developments in IP Protection and Combating Digital Infringement. On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan), I extend my warmest welcome to all online participants. Thank you for taking the time to attend this conference.
Taiwan's economic take-off in the late 1960s and its following impressive economic performances throughout the 1990s were mainly driven by a labor-intensive manufacturing industry. By 2000, however, Taiwan had transformed itself into a full-fledged democracy boasting a knowledge-based high-tech economy. Innovation became more critical than ever to our economic development. And one of the key elements in sustaining economic development is the safeguarding of intellectual property. According to the latest Global Competitiveness Report from the World Economic Forum, Taiwan ranked 12 out of 141 countries for its sound institutions, policies, and regulations protecting intellectual property rights.
Recognizing the importance of IP protection, Taiwan and the US agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen IP rights enforcement cooperation in February 2017, under the auspices of American Institute in Taiwan and our Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington, D.C. The MOU aims to expand and improve knowledge on arresting trafficking in counterfeit merchandise, the reproduction and distribution of pirated copyrighted works, and violations of trade fraud laws and what not.
As we enter the age of 5G mobile networks, the internet is allowing copyright infringers to reproduce other people's work at little to no cost. And more and newer forms of intellectual property infringement are emerging. Digital infringement is not just a challenge to private companies, which face corporate espionage and cyber threats; it is also a threat to good governance and government operations. Growing online activity means that no single country or government can safeguard online intellectual property on its own. Global efforts are needed to protect intellectual property rights and combat cybercrime.
I hope you would agree that today's workshop demonstrates the spirit of teamwork in our joint efforts to implement IP protection and to tackle digital challenges. Through online discussion we aim to facilitate multilateral cooperation among the participating law enforcement authorities with regard to cooperative investigative responses, and to work together to exchange our best practices, techniques and information sharing.
I would like to thank the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office for initiating this workshop. It will provide a pragmatic and useful platform for us to learn from our collective experiences and to be informed of the latest development of skills relating to intellectual property and digital infringement. I believe that the Indo-Pacific region will be the engine room of the global economy provided that we ensure a sound environment where transformative ideas can thrive and grow.
With that, let me once again welcome you all. I wish you a productive and fruitful discussion. Thank you!