Vice President Annette Lu met with Chile's Speaker of Congress of Deputies Gabriel Ascencio Mansilla, Mrs. Ascencio, and Deputy Patricio Walker Pierto on February 23, extending her warmest welcome and invitation to a forthcoming conference on congress reform in the Pacific region.
Vice President Lu first thanked the guests' long-term support and voicing for Taiwan in the congress. "You have stood on the side of justice, to which my total respect is due," said the vice president.
Vice President Lu told the guests that she was delighted to have Chile's participation in the Democratic Pacific Union (DPC), founded last year under the vice president's initiation. For the next step, in order to promote deep democracy in the Pacific rim, the vice president told the guests that she would like to propose a formation of the "Pacific Congress Alliance" and invited Speaker Ascencio and Deputy Walker to join in.
Since Vice President Lu is the first female vice president in Taiwan and a pioneering feminist in the country's women's movement, she congratulated the guests on having the first female President, Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet, in Chile. "I am not sure whether it's an encouragement or a pressure in your gentlemen's concern," the vice president said to the speaker and the deputy with a sense of humor. The guests praised the vice president's wisdom and ability in assisting the president to rule the country, and believed that President Bachelet will lead Chile and its people to a bright future.
Noting the guests' interest in Taiwan's technology development, the vice president took the opportunity to inform them of the e-Pacific projects promoted in her Democratic Pacific Union. "The mutual efforts of Taiwan and Chile will help realize these projects," the vice president concluded.