Vice President Lu Meets with Patricia Santo Thomas, Philippine' Secretary of Labor and Employment
Taipei, Sept. 30 (CNA) Vice President Annette Lu extended an invitation Monday to the Philippines' President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to attend an international conference in Taiwan early next year.
In a meeting with visiting Philippine' Secretary of Labor and Employment Patricia Santo Thomas, Lu asked the secretary to relay her invitation to Arroyo to attend the Democratic Pacific Conference, which Lu is organizing.
According to Lu, the Philippines, which has had two female presidents in its history, is "the pride of Asia."
The vice president also expressed her hope of visiting Manila, saying that while it is regrettable that the two neighboring countries have no diplomatic ties, many Filipino laborers have contributed to Taiwan's development by working here.
She also asked Manila to release five Taiwanese fishing boats and their crew seized by the Philippines' navy for poaching in Philippine territorial waters.