President Chen Shui-bian this afternoon received United States Senator of Virginia and Co-Chair of the Senate Taiwan Caucus George Allen and his wife, expressing his welcome on behalf of the government and the people of Taiwan. The President extended his gratitude toward Senator Allen's efforts in establishing the Taiwan Caucus in the U.S. Senate as well as his longtime friendship and support for Taiwan.
President Chen told Senator Allen that he owed his special thanks to President Bush as he acknowledged openly Taiwan's democracy and freedom, calling Taiwan a model of democracy in the Chinese society during his trip to Kyoto, Japan. President Chen promised to keep Taiwan's democracy going.
President Chen said he and the senator have commonalities in several fields as they share similar background and course of development in the political arena. Both of them are not native to the places where they gained political achievement. Senator Allen was born in California but became the governor of Virginia, and President Chen, who was born in Tainan, served as the mayor of Taipei. Both began a law career in 1978. President Chen became Taipei City Councilor in 1981 while Mr. Allen entered Virginia House of Representatives in 1983. When President Chen became the representative of Taiwan's lawmaking body in 1990, Senator Allen started his career as a U.S. representative who also made laws. During 1994 and 1998, they turned out to be executive heads of Taipei and Virginia, respectively. And in 2000, one was elected as president of the country while other gained further prominence as senator of the U.S.