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President Ma arrives in the Republic of Palau
2010-03-26

President Ma Ying-jeou departed the Solomon Islands at 7:00 a.m. on March 26 (4:00 a.m. Taipei time) and after a flight of about four hours arrived at Guam International Airport at 10 a.m. local time (8:00 a.m. Taipei time). American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt and the ROC's Representative to the United States Jason C. Yuan boarded President Ma's aircraft to greet him on his arrival. Meanwhile, Guam Governor Felix Camacho and Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo were waiting at the door to the aircraft to welcome him. President Ma and official members of his delegation then left the plane and walked to a VIP lounge in the airport where discussions were held with American political figures and overseas compatriot representatives residing in Guam. The president expressed his appreciation to everyone for coming to greet him.

After a 90-minute transit stop, the president's plane once again took to the skies and arrived at Palau International Airport at 1:00 p.m., marking the final leg of President Ma's journey to the ROC's allies in the South Pacific. ROC Ambassador to Palau Maggie Tien and Palau Vice President Kerai Mariur boarded President Ma's plane to welcome him, while Palau President Johnson Toribiong was waiting on the tarmac next to the stairs to the plane to greet him. The two leaders shook hands and exchanged greetings upon meeting, and Miss Palau presented flowers to President Ma.

President Ma and the delegation then headed to Palau's new capital building, where the two heads of state held discussions. In addition, in an effort to promote cultural interaction between the two countries, an exhibit on the traditional and modern handicrafts of Taiwan's indigenous peoples  was prepared at the Palau Cultural Center. The exhibition was attracting quite a bit of interest from the Palau public, and President Ma and President Toribiong jointly presided over a ceremony marking the opening of the exhibit. Chieftain Ibedul, Chieftain Reklai, and Queen Bilung, along with the Marshall Islands vice president and government officials, were all on hand for the ceremony.

President Ma, in remarks to the gathering, said that when he served as mayor of Taipei City, he put heavy emphasis on the preservation as well as promotion of traditions and languages of Taiwan's indigenous tribes. Since serving as president, he said that he has sought to bolster cultural, artistic and academic interaction between Taiwan and Austronesian peoples in an effort to highlight the culture of these peoples as well as to ensure that their cultural heritages are passed along to future generations. Therefore, he specially announced that the ROC government will aggressively promote an exchange and cooperation project to strengthen ties with its South Pacific allies in the areas of Austronesian traditions, languages, arts, academics, broadcasting, and youth development.

In the afternoon, President Ma and President Toribiong went to the Asahi Stadium where a friendly baseball game was held between teams from the two countries. At a ceremony before the start of the game President Ma made brief remarks. In addition, Taipei County's Education Bureau Director Her-Ran Liou donated baseball gear to Palau's national baseball team, and the chairman of Palau's baseball association accepted the gift on behalf of the team.

In the evening, President Toribiong held a state banquet for President Ma at Palasia Hotel Palau. After the banquet, President Ma returned to his hotel where he hosted an informal reception for members of the press corps traveling with him on this trip. The president recognized their hard work during the course of the journey and thanked them for their efforts.

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