President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was given red-carpet treatment on his arrival in Alaska yesterday as his new-found freedom in the US continued.
After flying from Panama, where he attended the country's 100th anniversary celebrations, Chen was greeted in Anchorage by Taiwan's representative to the US, Chen Chien-jen (程建人), American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairwoman Therese Shaheen, Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski, Alaskan House Speaker Pete Kott and overseas Taiwanese representatives.
Murkowski arranged for Chen to give a public speech on his arrival, an unusual privilege for a visiting Taiwanese president on a stopover visit in the US.
"Chairwoman Shaheen has witnessed this occasion and I hope the AIT can continue with their efforts," Chen said in response to the warm welcome. "Why is it that Alaska can but New York can't?"
When former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) returned to his alma mater, Cornell University, to give a speech in 1995, he also made a stopover in Alaska. But he was confined to his hotel and prohibited from engaging in any public activities.
Chen has enjoyed unprecedented exposure during his seven-day trip, beginning with a transit stop in New York last Friday.
Congressmen greeted him at the airport and he gave a 30-minute public speech when he accepted a human rights award. He was allowed to freely talk to the media and went on a cruise in New York harbor with 500 Taiwanese expatriates.
Chen expressed his appreciation for the way the US had treated him and emphasized that the US government had consented to all his activities.
Nevertheless, the public reception in Anchorage was a unexpected bonus. Chen found out about it only after he had taken off from Panama when Murkowski's office contacted Chen's aides.
In a speech during a banquet hosted by Taiwanese expatriates in Alaska, Shaheen said that Taiwan's economic performance had surprised the international community. She said it would be more appropriate for the so-called Greater China economy to be called the Greater Taiwan economy.
Her 20 years of experience as a businesswoman suggested that if Taiwan cooperated with China economically, the two sides could create a win-win situation, she said.
She said Taiwan had contributed a lot to the world in terms of promoting human rights and fighting terror and the world should value Taiwan more. Alaska understood this and was acting as a bridge between Taiwan and the world, she said.
Chen, comparing the current situation with the one that Lee encountered, said that the changes over the past eight years were a result of many things and people, including the US government, Murkowski and the improvement in Taiwan-US relations. He said that President George W. Bush was Taiwan's "guardian angel."
Chen said that he was quite satisfied with his trip and that its success was the achievement of all 23 million people in Taiwan.
Chen will arrive in Taiwan at 6pm tonight after going on a sightseeing trip around Alaska.
In contrast to the high-profile reception Chen received in Alaska, his return to Taiwan will likely be a low-key affair.
Presidential Secretary General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) yesterday urged government officials, legislators and Democratic Progressive Party supporters not to arrange a welcoming party for Chen at CKS International Airport.
During his stopover in New York, Chen met one of President Bush's brothers at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, according to a source from an overseas Taiwanese association.
However, the Presidential Office refused to confirm the information and did not want to make any comment.
(additional reporting by Chang Yun-ping)
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS