Businessman to fill Apec role

The island's government has named the head of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation as its envoy for the informal leaders' summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Vietnam next month.

'Morris Chang Chung-mao will represent President Chen Shui-bian at the Apec summit,' Liu Shih-fang, deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office, announced yesterday after Vietnam extended an invitation to Taiwan.

The hi-tech expert, whose company is the world's leading maker of microchips, will take part in the summit for the first time. The island's leader and senior political officials previously have not taken part personally because of objections from the mainland.