Immediately after his arrival in Costa Rica from Paraguay at 3 a.m. on May 8 (Taipei local time), President Chen Shui-bian met with President Oscar Berger Perdomo of Guatemala, President Boniface Alexandre of Haiti, President Enrique Bolaños Geyer of Nicaragua, President Elias Antonio Saca of El Salvador, and President Martin Torrijos of Panama. These five presidents of Taiwan's Central American allies reassured President Chen that they and their governments will continue to support for Taiwan's participation in the United Nations and the World Health Assembly.
Together with President Chen, these five presidents will also attend the inauguration of newly elected President Oscar Arias Sanchez of Costa Rica.
President Chen also met with the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Betty Williams. Mrs. Williams sympathized with President Chen's obstructed journey to Latin America. She also urged the international community not to either ignore China's infamous human rights records or follow its unjust deeds. A North Irish woman, Mrs. Williams invited the president to visit her country in the future.
President Chen left Paraguay at 8:30 p.m. on May 7 (Taipei local time). Paraguayan Vice President Castiglioni bade him farewell on behalf of President Duarte and his government. When arriving in Costa Rica, President Chen received welcome from Costa Rican Foreign Minister Marco Vinicio Vargas and the ROC's (Taiwan) expatriates.