Vice President and Madame Lien Chan, who are on a three-day visit to Grenada, today was invited to a luncheon hosted by His Excellency Sir Daniel Williams, Governor General of Grenada, and Lady Williams. During the luncheon, the Vice President made a speech to express his appreciation for the warm reception accorded him, his wife and the ROC delegation.
The full text of Vice President Lien's speech is as follows:
His Excellency Governor-General Sir Daniel Williams and Lady Williams, The Honourable Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell and Mrs. Mitchell, Members of the Cabinet, The Honourable President of the Senate Dr. John Watts and Mrs. Watts, The Honourable Speaker of the House Sir Curtis Strachan, Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives,
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Speaking not only for myself, but also for my wife and my colleagues, I wish to express to Your Excellency and Lady Williams our sincere gratitude for the many courtesies and generous hospitality the Grenadian Government so kindly extended to us after our arrival in this beautiful country.
As this is my first visit to Grenada, I am very happy to see the tremendous progress which has been made over the years in your national development, especially in the areas of tourism, agricultural diversification, infrastructure and micro enterprise projects. With a growth rate of 4.5% in 1997, your economy has continued to show its strength and many job opportunities have been created as a result.
More importantly, I am pleased to note that Grenada has been playing a leading role in the Caribbean region. In recent years, Grenada has continued to contribute to regional organizations, including the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the CARICOM, the OECS, the OAS and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). We admire you for the many accomplishments you have achieved.
The Government and people of the Republic of China have always treasured the special relationship we have developed with your beautiful country. In fact, when our two countries established diplomatic relations in 1989, I was serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of my country and gave my full support and wholehearted blessings. That is why I am especially delighted to witness the close and growing partnership between our two nations in political, economic, agricultural, cultural and other important fields.
I have no doubt that through our joint efforts, we will continue to explore new areas and avenues for further cooperation in conformity with our shared principles and goals. It is my sincere hope that my visit to Grenada will also serve to further strengthen the close ties of friendship and cooperation between our two countries and peoples.
In recent years, the Grenadian Government has firmly supported our endeavours to participate in the United Nations and other international organizations. May I take this opportunity to express, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of China, our most sincere gratitude and profound appreciation.
As a full-fledged democracy with 21.8 million people, the Republic of China will continue to do everything in our power to participate in the international arena. We want to restore the fundamental rights of our people; we also want to make positive contributions to the international community. I hope that based on our shared principles and goals, Grenada will continue to provide its steadfast and unwavering support to my country.
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I now invite all of you to join me in a toast to the good health and continued success of Sir Daniel and Lady Williams, and to the everlasting friendship between our two nations.