President Chen said May 4th was an especially historic day when he visited that country and saw its beautiful scenery and met its hospitable people. Since Taiwan and Tuvalu established diplomatic relations more than twenty years ago, that was the first meeting between both leaders. It could therefore be said that it was historical and President Chen expressed his most sincere gratitude.
President Chen was especially grateful when that country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicly declared support for Taiwan on March 18 after China passed its Anti-separation Law. The statements came out in favor of Taiwan's 23 million people and manifested Tuvalu's opposition to that law saying that China had unnecessarily heightened the tension on the Taiwan Strait and damaged peace. Its passage was also contrary to international justice. Moreover, in September last year during the 59th U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Toafa righteously spoke out for Taiwan's re-entry into the U.N. Tuvalu's Minister and Vice Minister of Health also showed strong support for Taiwan during the 57th and 58th World Health Assembly. On May 17th last year, Tuvalu cast a ballot in favor of Taiwan with the inclusion of the principle of universal application in the International Health Regulations. That principle would allow Taiwan to gain an observer status in the WHA eventually.
President Chen said that he was also happy that within the context of cooperative exchanges between the two countries, Taiwan could reciprocate in an appropriate manner. These included the repair of a Tuvalu cargo ship, improvement of the lighting and other facilities of Tuvalu's stadium and scholarships offered to Tuvalu students to come to study in Taiwan. Two such scholarships were given last year; this year, it will be raised to three and next year, President Chen said, as many as five would be awarded.
The President also said that in November last year in Auckland, and in March this year in New York, Madame Toafa was an outstanding participant in the International Conference on Women and held meetings with Taiwan's women delegates. President Chen said he hoped such exchanges would continue in the future.
Prime Minister Toafa responded that he was grateful for President Chen's visit to his country. Even though it was very far and travel was inconvenient, the Taiwan President spared no efforts in making the visit. It may have been a very short visit, but for the people of Tuvalu, it was a big event with much significance. President Chen's visit not only served to strengthen diplomatic ties between the two countries, but also enabled the people of Taiwan to know more about Tuvalu.
Prime Minister Toafa said that Taiwan was Tuvalu's very good friend and expressed his appreciation for this country's assistance in terms of health, medical supplies and scholarships. He said he hoped that this friendship could still develop in the future and stressed that Tuvalu would continue supporting Taiwan's re-entry into the United Nations and its participation in other international or regional organizations. This would be the best symbol of friendship between the two countries.
President Chen asked Premier Toafa to convey his best regards to the Reverend Filoimea Telito, the governor-general of Tuvalu. The President said Tuvalu's faithful friendship with Taiwan and its ardent support for this country, and due to their ties that span a quarter of a century, he did not mind all the hardships and would never forget the Tuvalu government and its people. The members of his visiting party took three small planes and overcame problems from the trip before finally landing on Tuvalu soil. President Chen said he believed both countries' friendship would last for a long time.
President Chen said that Tuvalu's land area may be small, but its maritime economic space is immense. The cover page of the most recent issue of Businessweek cited that Taiwan's high-technology products had the same importance to the world as crude oil from the Middle East. The same could be said of Tuvalu's fishery resources. They could be as important as oil and could be integrated with Taiwan's fishery technology. This is an area of cooperation worth exploring, said President Chen.
Two mayors of Tuvalu's offshore islands accompanied Prime Minister Toafa during his visit. President Chen said that being national leaders, he and Premier Toafa both paid close attention to the balance that should exist between city and countryside. There is an equitable implementation of government policies for Taiwan island and its offshore islands. Having been city mayor, the President said that he understood the importance of local governments for national development. President Chen reiterated his deep gratitude to Premier Toafa who on account of the strong ties between Taiwan and Tuvalu and based on the principles of international justice, firmly rejected the intimidation and bribery of Mainland China.