Dr. Johnny C. Chiang, Minister of the Government Information Office in Taiwan, will be speaking at a luncheon at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs on Tuesday, July 13 at noon. The OPC will co-sponsor this talk with the added benefit that the luncheon will be free for OPC members.

Minister Chiang serves as the spokesman for Taiwan’s cabinet and he is the primary link between the media and the government. His government is pursuing new economic and political initiatives across the Taiwan Strait with mainland China, which does not officially recognize the right of Taiwan to exist as a separate political entity.

Because of China’s diplomatic weight, Taiwan risked isolation in the international community as well as economic stagnation. So it has begun to seek greater economic cooperation with China in the form of a cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). With more economic inter-dependence between Taipei and Beijing, the risk of conflict across the Taiwan Strait could be diminished. That could ease the prospect that a conflict would erupt that would draw in American military forces.

Dr. Chiang has studied in the United States most notably receiving a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburg and a Ph.D in International Studies at the University of South Carolina.

The Carnegie Council luncheon topic of the talk is “Taiwan: Building Partnerships for Asia-Pacific Economic Integration.” Please RSVP to Stefanie Ambrosio at 212-838-4120 or events@cceia.org and identify yourself as an OPC member to get free admission.