International relationship official of European Commission DG Informational Society and Media, Ms. Alison Birkett (left) and Dr. Lee, Ta-Sung (right) of NCC
Ms. Alison Birkett, an international relationship official of European Commission DG Informational Society and Media, paid a visit to NCC in the afternoon of Thursday, March 25, and was received by Dr. Lee, Ta-Sung, Commissioner of NCC. Both exchanged views on numerous regulatory issues that both EC and Taiwan are concerned, the future direction, international cooperative relationship, and their ideas of information and communication industry cooperation on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Ms. Birkett has been working for EC for more than 2 decades, and is specialized in the planning of policies in the field of information and communication. She participated in the negotiations of OECD, ITU, and WTO. She also used to work for Commissioner Erkki Liikanen and Commissioner Viviane Reding. In addition, she took part in the ”i2010” project, which was established to stimulate the growth of EU’s economy and increase employment opportunities through the establishment of a fast and secure broadband network. After the reformation of the EC in 2010, Ms. Viviane Reding, who was the commissioner in charge of information, society and media, took on new responsibilities of justice, fundamental rights and citizenship. Concurrently, Commissioner Neelie Kroes and Mr. Joaquín Almunia have been appointed to manage the Digital Agenda and Competition respectively, which are highly related to communication and broadcasting.
As Ms. Birkett was designated as the Head of Information Society section, First Counselor for Information Society and Media in China from Nov 2004 to Sep 2009 with responsibilities that covered China and Mongolia, she is very interested in the development and investment status on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The international trade between China and Taiwan has increase dramatically in recent years; China has become the biggest importer of Taiwan’s products, and the second exporter to Taiwan. According to the data from the Bureau of Foreign Trade, the top product exported from Taiwan to China was electric/mechanical equipment, while reverse trade saw optical goods as the most traded product in 2009, accounting for $35 billion dollars for exports and $13.6 billion dollars for imports. Ms. Birkett is glad to see that the cooperation between China and Taiwan is maturing and stabilizing, and she believes that the industries of both sides will benefit from each other.
