Taiwan, an island of the size of Switzerland, with a population of 23 Million is a thriving democracy and a world class economy with cutting edge technology which has been one of the most successful countries in battling the Corona-Virus.
While Taiwan is fully integrated in the global economy it is politically isolated and sees itself confronted with growing threats by China.
In this context Taiwan´s Representative in Hungary Shih-chung Liu will talk about the importance of Taiwan's Economic Security to its National Security. He will address Taiwan´s strategy to accommodate US-China trade, and will also talk about how Taiwan successfully battles the pandemic and about the island´s role in the realignment of global supply chains. He will also highlight the importance of the market potentials of the Central and Eastern European Countries, specifically Hungary, to Taiwanese economic interests.
And he will of course be happy to respond to your questions.
Language: English
SHIH-CHUNG LIU assumed the responsibility as Taiwan Representative (ambassador) to Hungary in September 2020 after being appointed by President Tsai Ing-wen. Mr. Liu was the Vice Chairman of Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) before taking up the new assignment to Budapest. Mr. Liu held numerous positions in institutions such as the Cross-strait Prospect Foundation, the Taiwan Asia Exchange Foundation, as well as an advisor to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) in Taiwan.
Mr. Liu also worked at the Tainan City Government in January 2015 as Deputy Secretary-general to Mayor Lai Chin-te, who now is Taiwan’s Vice President. His past working experiences also include: President and CEO of the Taipei-based think tank the Taiwan Brain Trust, the director of International Affairs Department of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). From September 2008 to December 2009, Mr. Liu was a visiting fellow at the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies of the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
Mr. Liu spent eight years in the DPP government as a senior foreign policy adviser to former President Chen Shui-bian in the Presidential Office from 2000 to 2006 and then joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the Vice Chairman of Research and Planning Committee from 2006 to 2008.
Mr. Liu earned his M.A. from the Department of Political Science at Columbia University in the city of New York. He was born in 1965 and is married with one son.
Dr. Heinrich Kreft M.A., B.A. (USA), holds the Chair for Diplomacy II at Andrássy University Budapest and is Program Director for International Relations and European Studies. He is also the Director of its Center for Diplomacy. Previously, he was Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (July 2016 - August 2020), Special Ambassador for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue and for International Academic Relations, and Deputy Head of the Planning Staff of the Federal Foreign Office. Other assignments in his 35-year career have taken him to Washington, Tokyo, Madrid and La Paz.
In between, he was a visiting fellow at the Henry L Stimson Center, the Heritage Foundation, the Brookings Institutions, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Transatlantic Academy of the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, DC.
Heinrich Kreft studied political science, modern history and sociology at Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA (USA) , at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and the Institut des Hautes Etudes de L`Amérique Latine of the Sorbonne Nouvelle as well as at the Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster. He has published extensively on international relations. Most recent publications on China and the broader Middle East.
Covid Information
The 3-G rule (tested, recovered or fully vaccinated) applies throughout the campus of the Andrássy University Budapest. Proof of this must be presented when entering the university. In the case of testing, official proof of a negative PCR test (not older than 72 hours) or an antigen test (not older than 48 hours) must be presented.
Please note that it is compulsory to wear an FFP2-mask in closed rooms at the AUB (except the speaker in a speech).