Taipei, April 7 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian expressed his appreciation Monday to former U.S. Seventh Fleet Commander Lyle Bien for the support given to Taiwan by the United States during his term as fleet commander.
Chen made the remarks when he received Bien at the Presidential Office. Bien was one of the distinguished guests at the International Seminar on Asia-Pacific Cooperative Security, which was held in Taipei over the weekend.
Chen noted that Bien was in command during the 1996 missile crisis in the Taiwan Strait, when mainland China lobbed missiles into waters near Taiwan in the runup to the country's first direct presidential election and a Seventh Fleet battle group cruised near Taiwan Strait.
According to Chen, without the U.S. Seventh Fleet to protect Taiwan's peace and security, Taiwan could not have accomplished the election and the first peaceful power transfer following the 2000 presidential election would also not have been possible.
Chen joked about the similarities in their names. In addition, he noted that both his wife and Bien's wife are disabled.
The president pointed out that Bien has been married for 31 years and that his wife has been paralyzed for the same period of time, while he himself has been married for 28 years and his wife confined to a wheelchair for 18 years. "The feelings are hard for others to understand," the president said.
Bien said that he was excited and touched to meet Chen, but he pointed out that the fleet's appearance in the Taiwan Strait in 1996 was purely a regular cruise, although he said he was happy it had assisted in Taiwan's security.
Later, Bien, on the advice of his wife, presented Chen with a cowboy hat representing freedom and a free run of the prairie, while the president reciprocated by giving a Bian doll and a Bian hat to Bien's wife.