TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration Minister Chang Tzi-chin (張子敬) will be attending the Our Ocean Conference (OOC) in Palau, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced on Monday (April 11).

MOFA Spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that this year, Chang will be representing the nation under the name “Taiwan” at the annual meeting, which will last from April 13-14. By sending such a high-level official, Taiwan has broken out of the pattern of only sending NGO representatives or scholars to the OOC, CNA cited Ou as saying.

This is a major improvement in terms of the level of Taiwan's participation in international marine activities, showing that the nation’s achievements in marine affairs have been recognized globally, Ou said. She stated that Taiwan has long been committed to marine environmental protection and sustainable development and has been promoting the establishment of protected marine areas in recent years.

In 2020, Taiwan initiated its “Salute the Sea” policy and in 2021 launched the “Salute the Seas Taiwan Marine Ecological Environment Protection Project” to promote marine conservation legislation, a sustainable blue economy, and marine security, Ou said.

The spokesperson said that Chang will highlight Taiwan's achievements and long-term efforts to protect the marine environment at the conference and engage in exchanges with other attendees.