Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the 144th Member on January 1, 2002. Given the fact that the WTO involves a wide range of complex issues and tasks, the Taiwan government started to initiate the establishment of a research institute that not only provides WTO research capacity but also undertakes WTO-related training, database and promotional activities. Under the leadership of Mr. Vincent Siew, former Chairman of Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), the Taiwan WTO Center was established on September 8, 2003 as the only government-supported WTO research and advisory institution in Taiwan.