Vice President Annette Lu returned to Taiwan at 4:30 p.m. on February 2, marking the successful conclusion to a trip to three diplomatic allies in the South Pacific region, namely the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Nauru and the Solomon Islands. The vice president discussed her trip after disembarking from her plane.
She said that she does not look upon this trip as her final trip overseas as vice president, but rather as a journey aimed at strengthening relations with Taiwan's allies in the South Pacific. She said that domestic events in the three countries in December and January led to a change in leadership in all three nations. President Chen Shui-bian, she said, places great emphasis on head-of-state led diplomacy. She said that the president recently personally traveled to the Republic of Guatemala to attend the inauguration of President Alvaro Colom Caballeros and to strengthen ties with Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Latin America. The president asked Vice President Lu to act as his envoy in paying his congratulations to the three new leaders of allies in the South Pacific. The vice president said she was delighted to have the opportunity to make the trip and was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with the new leaders. She said the discussions held were cordial. More importantly, she said the three leaders have agreed to make visits to Taiwan in early March or April this year. In other words, the trip she made to the South Pacific was extremely important in solidifying the diplomatic alliances between Taiwan and the countries visited. Vice President Lu stressed that this trip should not be looked upon solely as an effort by President Chen to strengthen ties with Taiwan's allies before he leaves office on May 20. Rather, it will help solidify relations with these countries for the new president who is elected on March 22. She said Taiwan's domestic and foreign affairs will see many changes after a new president takes office, and it could be a year or two before Taiwan's new leader gets up to speed on many issues. There are concerns that China might take advantage of that period to steal Taiwan's diplomatic allies. She cautioned that the people of Taiwan must pay close attention to this situation.
The vice president also said that she engaged in soft diplomacy on this trip, not traveling to these nations with any promises of financial assistance. Still, she said that she and her delegation received enthusiastic welcomes in all the places visited. She noted that the Solomon Islands press printed headlines telling of how the new prime minister supports Taiwan's participation in the international community and will speak on behalf of Taiwan. She said that she was extremely moved by this. The vice president said that on her return to Taiwan, she made a transit stop in Guam. She said the acting governor of Guam and his wife met with her at a reception room in the airport for one hour. They exchanged opinions on a wide variety of topics and the meeting was quite meaningful, the vice president said.
Vice President Lu said that the United States in 2014 plans to move about 40,000 military personnel and their families from Okinawa to Guam. In preparation, the Guam administration is aggressively working to improve its hardware and software. The island plans to spend US$14 billion on various projects preparing for the event. She said the Japanese government is already participating in this project and the American government has also expressed its welcome to Taiwan to join in. She said she is extremely pleased at this development, as it also signifies that Taiwan's time to express its might in the Pacific region has come.
Lastly, the vice president took a look back at history and made remarks as to her hopes for the future. She said that the Marshall Islands, Nauru and the Solomon Islands saw upheaval as the result of World War II. Their islands were first occupied by the Japanese military and then they faced heavy bombing by the American military. Nonetheless, they took steps as set forth by the United Nations Charter, including trusteeship by the UN and then a vote to demonstrate self-determination, which ultimately enabled them to successfully become independent. The vice president believes that at a time when these island nations have all successfully gained independence, there is no reason that Taiwan cannot loudly speak out that Taiwan is already sovereign. She said this is the main conclusion that she has drawn from this trip.