Taiwan appoints senior official as new TETO chief

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 01/12/2010 11:02 PM

Taiwan has appointed Andrew Li-Yan Hsia as its trade representative to Indonesia, the Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TETO) said in Jakarta.

Hsia assumed his post in December 2009. Prior to coming to Jakarta, he was working as deputy foreign minister of Taiwan.

“Indonesia is an important country. That’s why Taiwan has appointed such a high-ranking official as its trade representative in Indonesia,” TETO’s executive officer of the press information division, Peter Wey, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

In 2008, trade between Indonesia and Taiwan reached US$10,85 billion, a 25 percent increase from $8.68 billion in 2007.

The previous TETO representative to Indonesia Timothy Chin-tien Yang, is now Taiwan’s foreign minister. Another former TETO representative, David Y. Lin, is now working as deputy foreign minister.

According to Wey, Hsia joined the Foreign Ministry as a specialist in 1982 and had worked in Washington, Ottawa, New York and New Delhi in different positions.