Vice President Wu Den-yih spent a second day in Belize, the second country on his trip to two Central American allies dubbed Project Sustained Friendship. The vice president on the morning of August 19 local time visited the Mayan ruins of Altun Ha , where he got a feel for the splendid history of the Mayan civilization. While at the site, the vice president also witnessed a traditional Mayan deer dance .
In the afternoon, the vice president visited an Eco Village and the Art Box Belize gift shop , both of which are run by Taiwan companies. Vice President Wu was quite impressed with the colors and beauty of the local handicrafts, and praised Taiwan businesses in Belize for the long-term efforts by which they have contributed to the development of that nation.
Later in the afternoon, the vice president was accompanied by Council of Labor Affairs Minister Wang Ju-hsuan (王如玄), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Shen-Yeaw Ko (柯森耀) , Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission Vice Minister Hsia Shen-hua (薛盛華) , and ROC Ambassador to Belize David Wu (吳建國) in holding discussions with 15 overseas compatriot leaders in Belize. Vice President Wu listened to suggestions, and exchanged opinions with them on a broad range of issues, including investment and development in Belize, the interests of overseas compatriots, teaching of Chinese as a second language, and cooperation and interaction between the two countries.
In the evening, the vice president held a banquet for overseas compatriots residing in Belize. During the event, he expressed his deepest appreciation for their longstanding support of the government. In prepared remarks, the vice president stated that during the course of his stay in Belize, overseas compatriots and locals warmly welcomed him to Belize by applauding and waving ROC flags. He said that he also has been deeply touched by seeing many ROC flags hanging on buildings alongside roads.
Vice President Wu pointed out that although Taiwan has limited natural resources, it has been able to create stable economic development, maintain a low crime rate, and keep inflation relatively low despite facing a number of challenges. He added that Taiwan's competitiveness and strong investment environment have been recognized by the international community in recent years.
The vice president commented that in the past, tourist arrivals increased by one million only every 10 years. However, since President Ma Ying-jeou took office, the number of tourist arrivals has grown from 3.84 million in 2008 to 4.39 million in 2009, 5.56 million in 2010, and 6.08 million in 2011. Tourist arrivals this year are expected to surpass 7 million, he said, furthermore noting that the government hopes that the annual number of visits to Taiwan will break through the 10 million mark by the end of 2016, thereby making Taiwan one of the world's major tourism destinations.
Vice President Wu stressed that the world's major markets presently are facing challenges associated with stagnant economic growth, adding that Taiwan is no exception. Even though imports and exports fell in the first six months of this year, the government continues to work to address this situation and that he expects improvements are expected in the second half of the year.
The vice president also mentioned that over the past six decades Taiwan has instituted land reform and pursued a variety of economic development measures. It has also implemented public education and local self-government, he pointed out. Taiwan, he said, has realized the Three Principles of the People as espoused by the nation's founding father Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Vice President Wu further stated his confidence that if overseas compatriots and the Taiwan public work together, Taiwan will undoubtedly become a place within the ethnic Chinese world that truly embraces the core values of freedom, human rights, democracy, and rule of law.