President Chen Shui-bian met with Junior Chamber International (JCI) 2008 World President Graham Hanlon at the Presidential Office on the morning of January 2. Also in attendance was Trevor Tu, the president-elect of the Taiwan chapter of the JCI. Tu will be the 56th president of the local chapter upon inauguration. President Chen extended a warm welcome to both of the guests.
President Chen said that he himself comes from the JCI family, and that the presidential and vice presidential candidates from the Democratic Progressive Party are also members of the JCI. As a result, after the presidential election is held on March 22, there is a strong possibility that Taiwan's next leader will also be a JCI member. He said this proves that the JCI is an outstanding cradle in nurturing leaders for Taiwan.
The president furthermore said that JCI Taiwan has carried out much work and made many contributions over the years. He specifically pointed out that JCI Taiwan last year cooperated with its counterpart in the Dominican Republic, paving the way for Taiwan International Health Action to go to that nation and provide free medical clinics for people there. The president said this is precisely the spirit of the organization, which aims to help people in need regardless of national boundaries. The president noted that the Taiwan chapter is the sixth largest JCI chapter in the world. It has been over 25 years since Taiwan held the JCI world annual assembly, he said. Based on JCI Taiwan's experience and its contribution to the international community, it is more than time for the annual assembly to be held here again. The president expressed his hope that Mr. Hanlon will provide assistance in this regard.
JCI 2008 World President Hanlon said that JCI Taiwan is an extremely active chapter. It not only exhibits an international perspective, but also respects cultural diversity. In May of last year, the 2007 JCI Asia-Pacific assembly was held on Taiwan and was a great success, exhibiting Taiwan's ability to hold the world assembly, he said. Mr. Hanlon also pledged that he will do all he can to assist Taiwan in obtaining the opportunity to hold a world assembly, adding that he hopes that his organization's annual meeting will be held here in the not too distant future.