Taipei, Feb. 21 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian told a group of visiting British parliamentarians Friday that he hopes that relations between Taiwan and their country would never again be strained -- referring to a British ad campaign that had infuriated Taiwan public and lawmakers.
Chen made the appeal during a meeting with the group, which included Martin O'Neill, co-chair of a pro-Taiwan group in the British Parliament.
Referring to the advertisement by the British company Diageo -- the world's largest brewery -- last Christmas that inferred that products made in Taiwan were of inferior quality, the president said that such an incident that could damage relations between the two countries would hopefully never happen again.
Chen said Taiwan and Britain have long maintained close and cordial ties and he called for enhanced two-way links based on existing frequent trade and commercial exchanges.
In terms of overseas investment, Chen noted that Britain is the No. 1 destination in Europe for Taiwan businesses, while British investments in Taiwan have amounted to US$2 billion.
The president also hailed the outstanding performance of the British government led by Prime Minister Tony Blair of the Labor Party, saying that the British ruling party has accomplished admirable reforms in the fields of economics and finance, among others.