President Chen Shui-bian on April 4 met with Colombian Senator Jairo Raúl Clopatofsky Ghisays, who is also the chairman of the Colombia-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group. President Chen, on behalf of the government and 23 million residents of the ROC (Taiwan), expressed his sincere welcome to Senator Clopatofsky and his wife.
President Chen said that the Colombia-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group was established by Senator Clopatofsky. At the time in 2003, he was also serving as the chairman of the Senate's Second Commission (Defense, Foreign Relations and International Trade). He was selected in 2003 to chair the Colombia-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group and has headed the group since. During this period, Senator Clopatofsky has worked on pushing forward the passage of the Colombia-Taiwan Relations Act. While the bill has not been passed due to pressure levied by external parties, President Chen said that he still is grateful for the efforts made by Senator Clopatofsky. In addition, he noted that Senator Clopatofsky has been an ardent supporter for Taiwan's entry into the United Nations and the World Health Organization. He also expressed his concern about and opposition to China's passage of the Anti-separation Law, for which President Chen thanked him.
During their meeting, President Chen expressed his opinion about exchanges between the two countries in recent years. He said that last year, bilateral trade reached US$310 million, adding that he believes there is much room for further economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. He pointed out, however, that Taiwan's representative office in Colombia has been unable to obtain various diplomatic privileges, such as legal status and tax exemption courtesies. President Chen said he hopes Senator Clopatofsky and members of his delegation will address this issue and provide assistance in the hope of enabling Taiwan's office in Colombia to enjoy the same privileges that similar Taiwan offices have in other Latin American nations. President Chen also called for the re-opening of a Colombian representative office in Taiwan. He said such an office, which was closed in 2002, would help promote substantive political and trade interaction between the two countries.
President Chen noted that Colombia this year formally applied to become a formal member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. He said that as a member nation, Taiwan would be pleased to see Colombia join the group and is willing to provide support and assistance in this regard. He pointed out that in the past, Taiwan voted in support of Colombia becoming a non-founding beneficiary of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. This provides Colombia with a number of conveniences and benefits in obtaining international financing. The president said he hopes the Colombian government will increase cooperation and exchanges between the two nations on the basis of mutual benefit. He furthermore said that last year, a representative from Taiwan and the Colombian minister of health jointly signed a memorandum of cooperation in order to fight avian flu. The pact was aimed at addressing the medical, health and disease prevention needs of both countries. Unfortunately, cooperation in this regard was halted due to pressure by China. President Chen said that health and human rights know no boundaries, adding that in the future, Taiwan is still willing to share its experiences with Colombia in preventing against an outbreak of avian flu.
President Chen reiterated his welcome and gratitude to the visiting members of the Colombia-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group. He also asked Senator Clopatofsky to forward his best wishes to Colombia President Alvaro Uribe Velez, noting that the two have met on a number of occasions in the past, including the celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of Panama as well as at inaugurations of heads of state of Taiwan allies in the region. President Chen mentioned that the two have a good relationship and that he appreciates the friendship and support of President Uribe to Taiwan.
The Colombia-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group went to the Presidential Building in the morning to meet with President Chen. Deputy Secretary-General to the President Chen Chi-mai was also in attendance.