President Chen Shui-bian on April 2 met with Italian Parliamentarian Cesare Campa. Mr. Campa is also the Deputy Chairman of Italy-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group. President Chen, on behalf of the ROC (Taiwan) government and people, expressed his sincerest welcome and gratitude to Mr. Campa and other parliamentarians in the group for making the long journey to Taiwan.
President Chen said that he had the opportunity in the middle of March to meet with Parliamentarian and Chairman of Italy-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group Gustavo Selva. The president noted the visit by Mr. Campa and the delegation he is leading further symbolizes the friendly relationship between the two nations. In particular, he said that the 23 million people of Taiwan are especially grateful for the long-term attention to Taiwan-related issues and support of Taiwan by the Taiwan Friendship Group.
President Chen expressed several goals in an effort to further bolster relations between the two countries. He said he hopes that the Taiwan Friendship Group could work to act on the following at its earliest convenience:
First, President Chen said he hopes the Taiwan Friendship Group can play a prominent role in paving the way for passage of articles that will guarantee that foreign art works on loan will not be impounded. He said this would enable world-class cultural relics from Taiwan, such as pieces from Taipei's National Palace Museum, to be displayed in Italy, bolstering cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Secondly, President Chen noted that Italy is one of the world's top tourist destinations. Last year, 215,000 people from Taiwan visited Italy for tourism. He noted that Italians are provided 30-day visa-free courtesies upon their arrival in Taiwan, adding that he hopes that on the basis of mutual reciprocity, the Italian government will provide the same visa-free courtesies to nationals from the ROC (Taiwan).
Thirdly, he urged the Taiwan Friendship Group to assist in the passage of treaties to prevent double taxation and tax evasion. Taiwan has already inked similar agreements with England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden, the president said, adding that he hopes that Taiwan and Italy will continue to work to iron out such pacts.
Fourth, President Chen expressed his appreciation to the Italian government for providing assistance to Vice President Annette Lu in making a transit stop in Italy in 2002. In March 2005, meanwhile, the Italian government granted President Chen and Taiwan's foreign affairs minister transit visas on their journey to the Vatican to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II. The president said that while Italy last year provided entry visas to Vice President Lu and Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen, the two were ultimately unable to make their journey. Nonetheless, he said the ROC government still appreciated the gesture. He expressed his hope that the Italian government will promote normalization of transit stops by high-ranking Taiwan officials in the future.
Lastly, President Chen noted that 18 years ago following the Tiananmen Incident in Beijing, EU nations instituted an arms embargo against China. Today, 18 years later, China still persecutes dissidents, political prisoners, religious prisoners and human rights lawyers. He said that China's passage of the Anti-separation Law in 2005 was an attempt to provide a legal basis for China to use military force against Taiwan. In light of this situation, he said that the continuation of the EU arms embargo against China is the right decision. The European Parliament has many times passed resolutions to maintain the arms embargo on China and he urged the Italian government to use its influence to keep the arms embargo in place.
Mr. Campa expressed his gratitude to President Chen for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with him. He responded favorably to President Chen's suggestions, saying that he will work to act upon them upon his return to Italy.
Accompanying Mr. Campa on this trip are parliamentarians Pietro Franzoso, Roberto Rosso, Valter Zanetta and Luana Zanella. Accompanying the delegation in the morning to the Presidential Building were Maria Assunta Accili Sabbatini, Italy's representative in Taiwan, and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Ching-shan Hou. Deputy Secretary-General to the President Chen Chi-mai was also in attendance.