Your Majesty King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Swaziland; Your Excellency Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso; Your Excellency Fradique de Menezes, President of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe; Your Excellency Bingu wa Mutharika, President of the Republic of Malawi; Your Excellency Aja Isatou Nije-Saidy, Vice President of the Republic of The Gambia; Esteemed Foreign Ministers and Ambassadors; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good evening to one and all!
I want to take this opportunity to once again express to the leaders of our allies and delegation members how much I am enjoying being on this trip with you all. We have been on the Taiwan High Speed Rail and visited the Central Taiwan Science Park, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts and Nantou County's Sun Moon Lake. We in Taiwan are extremely proud of these because they symbolize the significant achievements Taiwan has made, and it is a great pleasure for us to be sharing them with our dear friends.
I know that this is the first time the majority of you have been to Sun Moon Lake, so it is a privilege for me to be your tour guide and present a brief overview of our current location. Nantou County is in the center of Taiwan, and the lovely Sun Moon Lake is one of this country's top ten tourist destinations. The lake gets its name from the fact that the northern part is shaped like the sun and the southern part like the moon. In the middle of the lake is Lalu Island, which is believed to be the dwelling place of the souls of the ancestors of the Thao Tribe, the 10th tribe of Taiwan's indigenous peoples. In order to preserve the traditions and culture of the Thao Tribe, the government has launched a number of renovation and development projects there. Our government is dedicated to preserving our nation's diverse cultures.
Sun Moon Lake is also vivid proof of Taiwan's vitality and resilience. After the September 21 earthquake in 1999, many hotels and buildings in the neighboring areas were devastated. However, we have focused our efforts and worked hard on reconstruction over the years, and today this area is as flourishing as it was before the earthquake. This testifies to how prolific the people of Taiwan are, and evidences their determination never to give up under any circumstances.
In this clear and crisp autumn weather, I feel extremely honored to be sharing the beautiful scenery and happy times with you, and I look forward to the opportunity to go on more tours with all leaders in the future. Whilst I would very much like to remain with you here overnight, I have other engagements tomorrow that require my presence. And so it is with regret that I must take my leave.
I nonetheless hope that all distinguished guests have a wonderful dinner together. Thank you.