The Chilean delegation, the president said, is the first one led by the congress speaker to call on Taiwan since the diplomatic ties between the two countries were broken off in 1970. Therefore, the president was deeply touched by, and grateful for, the guests' visit.
Even though there is a huge geographical distance between Taiwan and Chile, the trade volume of 2005 reached more than US$1.5 billion and Chile has enjoyed more than US$1 billion trade surplus from Taiwan, based on which, according to the president, the bilateral trade in the future will be further strengthened.
President Chen then congratulated the guests on having had the first female president, Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet, since the country's independence 195 years ago. The president showed the guests his admiration to President Bachelet's ability when she was Minister of Health and Minister of National Defense. President Chen recalled the hospitality Chilean friends extended to him when he, then being Taipei Mayor, attended an executive meeting of the International Union of Local Authorities hosted by San Diego in 1996, which had allowed Taipei to host the World Capitals Forum in 1998.
The guests praised the president's persistent efforts in ensuring human rights, and believed that the two countries would have more technological, cultural and economic exchanges in the future.
In addition to sending his regards to Deputy Walker's brother, Chile's Foreign Minister Ignacio Walker Pierto, the president recommended that the guests pay a visit to the Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world, and the National Palace Museum, assuring them that these sites would impress them to a great extent.
"Taiwan and Chile have much in common," the president concluded, referring to the fact that the two countries have transformed from authoritarian regimes to democratic ones and now both hold a firm belief in such universal values as democracy, liberty, and human rights.