President Chen Shui-bian on February 13 met with The Lord Howell of Guildford, the Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords, and expressed his warm welcome and gratitude to him on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan). Lord Howell's last visit to Taiwan was over 10 years ago.
President Chen noted that Lord Howell is a senior member of the British Parliament and a parliamentary leader who is deeply admired by the British people. In the past, he has served as Secretary of State for Energy, Minister of State in Northern Ireland and Secretary of State for Transport. He was also the Chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, during which he visited Taiwan twice, in 1993 and 1995.
President Chen expressed his gratitude to Lord Howell for his long-term support of Taiwan, especially for the friendly language regarding Taiwan in the East Asia Report published on August 13, 2006 by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons. In addition to suggesting that the British government support Taiwan to become an observer and full member of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the report also urged the UK government to increase contact with Taiwan in the political area.
President Chen stressed that the right to health of the 23 million people of Taiwan should not be ignored by the international community. The president said he has no doubt that the entire world would benefit if the people of Taiwan are able to enter the World Health Organization and become an observer in the WHA. Otherwise, Taiwan will become a hole in the global disease prevention system, which the world will regret.
The president furthermore said that the world is presently focusing its efforts on prevention of avian flu and that Taiwan has carried out a large amount of work in this regard. In 2005 and 2006, the government held three high-level national security conferences specifically addressing and discussing measures to prevent avian flu. He said Taiwan is one of a handful of countries in the world that have elevated avian flu prevention to a national security-level issue, adding that Taiwan is thankful that it presently remains free of avian flu.
President Chen said that Taiwan and the UK share the ideals of democracy, freedom, human rights and peace. He added that in the future, the two countries should be able to work together in the areas of health and disease prevention. He noted that the two have established a strong foundation in education, cultural, tourism, and trade & economic exchanges. Presently, over 14,000 Taiwan students are studying in the UK. In addition, tourist visits between the two countries are more than that between Taiwan and any other European country. President Chen expressed his support for cultural exchanges between the two countries, noting that a collection of art from the British Museum is presently on display at the National Palace Museum. He also said that the UK is Taiwan's third largest trading partner in Europe, while Taiwan is the UK's ninth largest market for exports in the Asia-Pacific. The president said he is confident that this is just the beginning, and that there is much room for growth in the future.
Joining The Lord Howell of Guildford was Dr. Carole Nakhle, Senior Parliamentary Advisor. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Ching-shan Hou and Michael Reilly, Director of the British Trade & Cultural Office, accompanied the visitors to the Presidential Building to meet with President Chen.