Expatriate Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

To align with the government's trade policies and unite the strength of overseas young business leaders, the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) organized the 3-day "2024 Global Young Entrepreneurs Visiting Program." On October 18, OCAC Deputy Minister Jhao-Syong Ruan chaired a roundtable discussion that covered the two topics of "Taiwan's Economic and Trade Development" and "Overseas Community Affairs." The 29 young entrepreneurs from 16 countries learned about Taiwan's start-up and tech industry trends and also engaged with local young entrepreneurs.

In his speech, Deputy Minister Ruan shared the various government programs, such as the "Billion-dollar Young Entrepreneur Dream Building Program," aiming to provide tangible support for overseas Taiwanese in their business development. He noted that the strength accumulated by overseas compatriots is an extension of Taiwan's government power. He thus hopes the OCAC can better connect with and support them to jointly promote Taiwan as an economic powerhouse. Ruan also highlighted President Lai's vision that Taiwanese businesses can "expand global presence and international markets from a solid base here in Taiwan." Through various programs and activities, the OCAC is committed to realizing this vision and ensuring that overseas compatriots play a key role.

The roundtable discussion was divided into two sessions. The first focused on "Taiwan's Economic and Trade Development," featuring representatives from various government agencies, including Ya-Ping Huang, Secretary-General of the Administration of Digital Industries, Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA); Chyoug-Hwa Chen, Deputy Director of the Industrial Development Department at the National Development Council (NDC); and Chia-Hui Lin, Deputy Division Chief of the Innovation Incubation Division at the Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). These officials engaged in dialogue with the young entrepreneurs, introducing Taiwan's main digital, economic and trade policies to help them understand Taiwan's strengths and the current state of industry collaboration.

The MODA representative shared its "three arrows" for digital development: fighting digital fraud, enhancing digital resilience, and bolstering the digital economy. This includes improving AI product quality, strengthening the cybersecurity industry, and connecting to international markets through the Taiwan Cloud (TCloud) Marketplace. The NDC speaker shared its goals in supporting industries by improving capital, operations, and digital efficiency to enhance national visibility. The MOEA representative focused on helping SMEs develop "the dual engines of net-zero and digital transformation" and collaborating with overseas Taiwanese businesses to expand into global markets.

In the second session on "Overseas Community Affairs," the OCAC arranged for heads of the Departments of Policy Research and Development, Expatriate Affairs, Compatriot Education Affairs, Compatriot Business Affairs, and Compatriot Student Affairs, as well as the Overseas Community News Agency, to exchange views on the current state of overseas community affairs and listen to suggestions from young entrepreneurs. The lively discussions centered on how to better support young overseas compatriots in community affairs, deepen Chinese language learning for the second generation, extend the reach of OCAC services abroad, and expand efforts to promote Taiwan's soft power to mainstream societies. 

The delegation participated in an exchange seminar with entrepreneurs, attended the "Taiwan Innotech Expo," and visited the Taiwan AI Lab and Techman Robot. The OCAC hopes that through exchanges and collaboration with domestic industries, the young entrepreneurs will work together to expand into international markets.