President Chen Shui-bian met with Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Mrs. Gonsalves at the Office of the President on June 6. President Chen welcomed his guests' fifth visit to Taiwan and praised their country for its paradigmatic constitutional reform.
President Chen said to his guests that the people's participation in the constitutional reform of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a model that Taiwan should look up to, referring to the fact that in St. Vincent and the Grenadines an ad hoc commission on constitutional reform had studied for two years (2003-05) on the issue in question and finally presented its report to the congress as a reference for further reform.
President Chen also shared with his guests that Taiwan's current constitutional re-engineering is driven from bottom to top, from outside to inside, and this "impossible re-engineering work" would not be absolutely impossible as long as the social conditions are ripe, the legislature supports, and the people give their approval.
To continue to strengthen the 25-year-long friendship between Taiwan and St. Vincent and the Grenadines since their diplomatic relations were established in 1981, President Chen wished to assist St. Vincent and the Grenadines' development in constructing a coast-to-coast highway, a national library, a Taiwan-St. Vincent and the Grenadines bridge, an international airport in addition to offering scholarships and agricultural technology support.
In reciprocation, Prime Minister Gonsalves, who was honored by the New York based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) this February for his achievements in promoting freedom, human rights and democracy, reassured President Chen that he would continue to strengthen the friendship between the two countries and support Taiwan's participation in the international community.
After the meeting, President Chen entertained his guests with a banquet, which Vice President Annette Lu, Premier Su Tseng-chang, Secretary-General to the President Mark Chen, and His Excellency Ambassador Jacques Sawadogo of Burkina Faso also attended.