Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

Vice President Wu Den-yih headed a delegation from the ROC that departed on the morning of August 13 on a trip to two diplomatic allies in Central America – the Dominican Republic and Belize. The vice president delivered brief remarks before boarding the plane.

Vice President Wu stated that he will serve as President Ma Ying-jeou's envoy on this trip to attend the inauguration of Dominican Republic President-elect Danilo Medina on August 16, after which he will also travel to Belize. The vice president pointed out that his entourage will make a stopover in New York on the way to the Dominican Republic and in Los Angeles on the journey back to Taiwan. The vice president added that this marks his first official overseas trip in the capacity of vice president since taking office. The objective of this trip, he said, is to demonstrate the deep friendship that the ROC has towards its allies in Central America. At the same time, he said, he intends to examine the vocational training projects and demonstration farms that the ROC has jointly established with these countries in order to better understand how the assistance provided by the ROC government has boosted vocational abilities of the public in these nations, and enhanced their agricultural competitiveness.

The vice president stressed that the ROC in the past received assistance from quite a few advanced nations, which set the groundwork for the progress and prosperity it enjoys today. As a member of the international community, in carrying out cooperation projects with its allies, the ROC will adhere to the principle of "seeking proper goals, acting lawfully, and exercising effective administration," he said. Vice President Wu said that these projects are also intended to enhance bilateral alliances and public wellbeing, and help achieve the goal set forth by President Ma to forge friendship for the ROC in the international community.

The vice president is slated to return to Taiwan on the evening of August 24. At the airport to wish the vice president and his entourage bon voyage were Secretary-General to the President Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang (楊進添), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Shen-Yeaw Ko (柯森耀), Dominican Republic diplomat stationed in the ROC Samuel Castro and Belize Charge D'Affaires to the ROC Cherie Minette Nisbet .