It is my pleasure to introduce to you the honorable Alex Kuo-shu Fan, who is the director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle. During this introduction, there will be some pictures on the screens showing Director Fan performing some of his diplomatic duties. He was sponsored by David Woodward, who we thank. His classification is Diplomat - Republic of China. He is married to Amy Huseh-mei Lo, who is a prosecutor in Taiwan’s high prosecutors’ office for the government of Taiwan. They have two grown children, a son, Peter, and daughter, Peggy, who live and work in Toronto, Canada. The director general is joined today by Vice Consul Tony Hu.
He decided early on in his diplomatic career that he wanted to concentrate on North America. His diplomatic skills have allowed him to be posted in Ottawa (twice), New York, and Toronto. He has recently been appointed to the Seattle office. The Seattle office is responsible for representing the interests of the Republic of China in the states of Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Wyoming. That is about 30% of the land mass of the U.S. Taiwan is a country of 24 million people with currently about 10,000 expats living in the state of Washington.
The director general is passionate about the dynamic relationship between the Republic of China and the U.S. that has existed over the past 40 years. You may not know that 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act which was signed on April 10, 1979. Stay tuned for activities here in Seattle to mark this historic event.
Taiwan is the 11th largest trading partner of the U.S. and it is the state of Washington's sixth largest trading partner with agricultural products (apples, soybeans, wheat and potatoes) and transportation (airplanes), making up 71% of Washington's exports to Taiwan. Taiwan is the seventh largest importer to Washington State with computers and electronic products making up over 38% of the imports.
The director general not only serves his country here, but he also wants us to establish connections with his country that provides a democratic government with a rule of law in the Pacific Rim. We have more in common with the Republic of China than we do with most of the other countries in the Pacific Rim.
Please welcome the honorable Alex Fan to our club as president Cindy presents him with his Rotary pin.
