In recent years, the Public Construction Commission under the Executive Yuan has devoted itself to assisting domestic professional societies to gain membership to international engineering associations.
After the Chinese Taipei APEC Engineer Monitoring Committee under the Chinese Institute of Engineers was accepted by the APEC Engineer Framework in June 2005, the Taiwanese engineering society also gained entrance to the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Southeast Asia and the Pacific ( FEISEAP) on June 2.
FEISEAP was established in 1978 with the initiative of UNESCO. Its 13 member countries include Australia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Members meet every two years.
The duty of FEISEAP is to facilitate cooperation among the engineers in Southeast Asia and the Pacific and to establish an education accreditation system for engineers in the region.
Due to its close relations with the UNESCO, FEISEAP only provides membership to UN member countries, a status that Taiwan has been denied since 1971.
This year, several member countries have proposed an amendment to change the abovementioned condition from member country to member economy, which allows Taiwan's entry. In the June 2 general meeting, held in Vietnam Taiwan was accepted as a member under the name Chinese Taipei and the Chinese Institute of Engineers will function as Taiwan's representative to the FEISEAP.
In the same meeting, the members also resolved to change the association's name to the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and the Pacific (FEIAP), an effort that will help bring in more members.
Jenn-Chuan Chern, vice chairperson of the Public Construction Commission, said that Taiwan is accepted by FEIAP due to its performance in areas of engineering education, professionalism cultivation, and economic development. Since FEIAP has a broad base in the region, the commission believes that the association will become an important exchange platform for domestic engineers and their counterparts in other countries.