The new Ambassador of the Republic of El Salvador to the ROC Marta Chang de Tsien on August 5 presented her credentials to President Ma.
The ceremony took place at the Presidential Office Building at 9 a.m. Ambassador Chang was escorted throughout the proceedings by Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of Protocol José María Liu. Also in attendance at the ceremony was Presidential Secretary-General Liouyi Liao and Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang.
After Ambassador Chang presented her credentials, President Ma on behalf of the government and people of the ROC extended a warm welcome to her on assuming her new position here. Noting that Ambassador Chang is a second-generation ethnic Chinese in El Salvador who was educated in the United States, President Ma stated that she embodies the best of Salvadoran, American, and Chinese culture. The president remarked that Ambassador Chang's husband, Mr. Tsien Lo-shen, serves as senior advisor to the ROC Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission. He is highly respected among overseas compatriots and has provided service in this respect for several decades, becoming quite a popular figure in El Salvador. President Ma said that he is confident that Ambassador Chang will do an outstanding job in her post here.
The president commented that the ROC and El Salvador established formal diplomatic relations over 70 years ago. The longstanding alliance features cooperative projects covering a variety of fields, including education, culture, technology, agriculture, economics & trade, and medicine, he said. Three years ago the two nations signed a free trade agreement, and the pact formally took effect in March 2008, enabling trade relations between the two countries to enter a new era, he said.
President Ma expressed his hope that after Ambassador Chang assumes her post, relations between the ROC and El Salvador will enter a new stage and that the two countries will experience even closer cooperative relations. The president also said he hopes that El Salvador President Mauricio Funes will be able to make a visit to Taiwan.
Ambassador Chang stated that El Salvador and the ROC have long maintained extremely close ties. She said that she will make every effort in her new position to further cement the bond between the two nations.