World

Who's Who At APEC

November 14, 2000 / 3:45 PM EST / AP

Several countries in the 21-member Asia-Pacific Cooperation forum are grappling with political uncertainty as their leaders attend the APEC summit Wednesday and Thursday.

UNITED STATES: President Clinton leaves behind a nation uncertain who will succeed him as candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush battle in the courts and through a recount for Florida's 25 Electoral College votes.

CANADA: Foreign Minister John Manley will represent Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who is campaigning in a national election Nov. 27.

APEC At A Glance

Fast facts on APEC
GOAL: Established in response to growing trade among Asia-Pacific economies, APEC is committed to achieving free trade among its members by 2020.

HISTORY: APEC was founded in 1989 by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the Unites States. Since then nine more countries have been admitted, starting in 1991.

HEADQUARTERS The APEC Secretariat was established in 1993 with a headquarters in Singapore.

SUMMITS: Summits have been held annually since the first in the United States in 1993. Next year's summit will be held in Shanghai, China.

PHILIPPINES: President Joseph Estrada is still scheduled to come to the APEC summit, though the Philippines House of Representatives voted Monday to impeach him over a bribery scandal.

TAIWAN: Central bank governor Perng Fai-nan will attend. China, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province, insists that Taiwan's leader cannot attend summits of the trade group. At home, the opposition National Party is trying to have President Chen Shui-bian recalled.

PERU: President Alberto Fujimori comes to Brunei after lawmakers ousted a key ally as president of the country's congress, opening the way for debate on removing him in connection with a corruption scandal involving his former spy chief.

INDONESIA: President Abdurrahman Wahid is mired in allegations of incompetence and corruption. His control over a country bubbling with separatist and sectarian violence is increasingly questioned by Parliament.

THAILAND: Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai is trailing in polls pitting his Democrat Party, which has led Thailand since November 1997, against a new group led b telecommunications tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra. The national election will be held Jan. 6.

JAPAN: Prime Minister Yohsiro Mori is beset by plummeting popularity and rebellion in his Liberal Democratic Party.

MEXICO: President Ernesto Zedillo is in his final days of office. Vicente Fox, elected in July, succeeds him Dec. 1.

Other leaders attending the APEC summit amid relatively stable circumstances at home:

Chile, President Ricardo Lagos;
China, President Jiang Zemin;
Hong Kong, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa;
South Korea, President Kim Dae-jung;
Malaysia, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad;
New Zealand, Prime Minister Helen Clark;
Australia, Prime Minister John Howard;
Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Mekere Morauta;
Russia, President Vladimir Putin;
Singapore, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong;
Vietnam, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Manh Cam;
Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai remained home in Vietnam to prepare for Clinton's arrival on a state visit following the APEC summit.
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