1 January 1990
Our government submitted its accession application to the GATT Secretariat in the name of ”the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu” according to Article 33 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
29 September 1992
At its meeting of 29 September to 1 October 1992, the GATT Council of Representatives established a Working Party to examine our application to accede to the GATT, the predecessor organization of World Trade Organization (WTO).
From 1994 to 2000
Our government held bilateral negotiations with 30 countries, and our accession Working Party held more than 200 plurilateral and multilateral meetings.
12 November 2001
At the fourth WTO Ministerial Meeting held in Doha, our accession was formally adopted and our former Economic Minister Mr. Hsin-I Lin signed the accession protocol on behalf of our government.
16 November 2001
The Legislative Yuan passed our accession protocol and related documents, and President Shui-bian Chen then completed the domestic approval procedure.
1 January 2002
The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu formally became the 144th Member of the WTO.
March 2002
Our first Permanent Representative, Ambassador Ching-chang Yen, presented his credentials to the then Director-General of the WTO Secretariat, Mr. Mike Moore. The Permanent Mission of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Mastu to the WTO was formally established in Geneva.
May 2005
Our second Permanent Representative, Ambassador Yi-fu Lin, presented his credentials to the then Director-General of the WTO Secretariat, Mr. Supachai Panitchpakdi.
December 2012
Our third Permanent Representative, Ambassador Shin-Yuan LAI, presented her credentials to the then Director-General of the WTO Secretariat, Mr. Pascal Lamy.
April 2013
The Mission moved to its new address.
October 2016
Our fourth Permanent Representative, Ambassador Chin-Yi CHU, presented his credentials to the Director-General of the WTO Secretariat, Mr. Roberto Azevêdo.
September 2019
Ambassador Chin-Yi CHU left the post on his request. Deputy Permanent Representative, Dr. Yu-Ping LIEN, worked as the Chargé d'affaires since September 2019.
July 2020
Deputy Permanent Representative, Lianron LIN, took office and worked as the Chargé d'affaires since July 2020.
September 2020
Our current Permanent Representative, Ambassador Chang-fa LO, took office since September 2020.
