Vice President and Madame Lien Chan and a special delegation left for the Republic of Costa Rica this afternoon to attend the inauguration of President Miguel Angel Rodriguez. Vice President Lien issued the following written statement before departure:
As the envoy of the President of the Republic of China and at the invitation of the Costa Rican government, I am leading a delegation to the Republic of Costa Rica today to attend the inauguration of His Excellency President Rodriguez on May 8, 1998. I will then proceed to the eastern Caribbean to visit Grenada, where I will meet with the Prime Ministers of St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Dominica--the four Caribbean countries with whom we enjoy diplomatic ties. I am exceedingly honored and pleased to head this mission.
Both the Republic of Costa Rica and Grenada are our faithful allies. They have maintained close relations and friendship with the ROC, and have upheld righteousness and justice by strongly supporting our efforts to participate in the international community. We treasure their warm friendship.
On behalf of the government and people of the ROC, I will extend our congratulations to the government and people of the Republic of Costa Rica on the inauguration of their newly-elected President, and assure the Grenadian government that we value the traditional friendship between the ROC and Grenada. Meanwhile, I will exchange views with senior officials of these Caribbean governments on general international situation and matters of common concern. I will also extend the warm regards of our government to the Chinese residing in that region and our diplomatic and agricultural missions stationed there. I am confident that my visit will help strengthen the mutual understanding and friendly cooperation between the ROC and the Republic of Costa Rica as well as these Caribbean countries.