Governor Murkowski is well known in Taiwan as a result of his friendships with Taiwan businessmen and leaders, his 22-year tenure as U.S. Senator, and his work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Under his leadership, Taiwan and Alaska established the Taiwan-Alaska Trade & Investment Cooperation Council in 2004.

Alaska exported $17 million of seafood and forest products to Taiwan in 2005. Both seafood exports and wood exports climbed in 2005. Seafood exports grew nearly nine percent to $7 million and forest products increased 25 percent to $5 million. The decline in total export value for 2005 compared to the year previous occurred because there were no minerals exports, a $4 million value in 2004.

Taiwan-Alaska Trade & Investment Cooperation Council was active in 2005. Five mining companies with interests in Alaska made presentations at a TATICC Mining and Investment Forum in Taipei in April. The forum attracted representatives from Tai Power, Chinese Petroleum Corporation, Formosa Petrochemical, China Steel Corporation, and private investment firms as well as government. In August, forest products buyers from Taiwan and officials from the Taiwan Forestry Bureau traveled to Alaska to meet with log exporters and others in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks. Over 100 Taiwan and Alaskan business representatives attended the Council’s second annual meeting in Girdwood in September.

Tourism promotion in Taiwan was another important priority for TATICC. The Alaska Travel Industry Association conducted travel industry training seminars to tour operators and travel agents and continues to work with Alaska Pac, a consortium of 13 Taiwanese travel companies. ATIA also arranged for a familiarization tour of Alaska for Taiwan travel agents.

Former Taiwan President Teng-hui Lee with Governor Murkowski, (standing l to r) Ai Mayo, Ming Chen, and Liching Kott during the President’s October 2005 visit to Alaska.

Frank Roppel (left) , co-chair of TATICC, led a trade mission of Taiwan forestry officials and buyers to Alaska in June 2005. Pictured in Wrangell at Silver Bay Logging, Inc.

The sitting and former Presidents of Taiwan both visited Alaska in 2005. In September President Shui-Bian Chen stopped en route to Florida. Over 50 Alaskans gathered to hear President Chen speak on Taiwan and democracy. Former President Teng-Hui Lee stopped in Alaska for three days on his way to speak at the National Press Club in Washington. A long-time friend of the Governor, President Lee toured southcentral Alaska and hosted a dinner in honor of the Governor.