Ladies and gentlemen:
Good evening! Bonsoir! Boa noite!
I'm really very happy to be here for today's reception celebrating Africa Day. This is the seventh time I have attended the Africa Day festivities, so I would like to begin by offering a warm welcome to all of our honored guests.
On this day 52 years ago, the leaders of 32 African nations met in Addis Ababa at a meeting of independent African countries, and decided to establish the Organisation of African Unity. To commemorate that historic occasion, the African Freedom Day inaugurated on April 15, 1958 was changed to May 25.
So for me, given its historical background, African Freedom Day is also a celebration of unity. It commemorates Africans breaking the bonds of colonial rule, and the rising spirit of national and ethnic independence. But at the same time, African Freedom Day also exemplifies the spirit of regional peace and mutual development. On July 9, 2002 the Organisation of African Unity became the African Union, an important forum for regional integration in a global world.
Let me just tell you some stories about experiences I have had in the last seven years after I took office. I visited all three African allies in the last three years, and some countries twice. I remember in April 2012 and January 2014 I myself travelled to my African allies, and during my last visit to Sao Tome and Principe, I visited a high school. The high school was jointly built by Taiwan and Sao Tome and Principe, and I attended a ceremony where I donated 30 soccer balls to the students. So they invited me to take a penalty kick, which I did. So on my very first try, I scored. The soccer ball went into the upper left corner of the goal. So immediately, the students and everyone else that was watching broke out in thunderous applause. The whole scene was really unforgettable. Actually, I did play soccer in high school and university. I didn't play very well. But I was good enough to make to the class team, but not the school team. So that was the first time to show my skills in a foreign country. I hadn't done that for more than 10 years.
So Taiwan's African allies actually have been very helpful in helping my country to participate in international activities.
Let me give you another example. When I visited Swaziland, on the same trip, I visited a vocational training center where I saw a Taiwanese teacher who had quite a few students learning to become technicians. The teacher was quite an interesting guy. He didn't study computer science until he became a teacher in Swaziland, and he taught himself computer science. And eventually he was able to train the students to make very good performance in the government-sponsored vocational exams. Their performance was better than students from other training centers, so he was very proud. As a result of his performance, he decided to stay in Swaziland for over 20 years. This is a very touching story.
Another lady also taught the Swazi women to sew. As you know in Swaziland, pupils in elementary school are required to wear uniforms. So every family has to buy or make the uniforms for their kids. So the sewing teacher taught the mothers of the students how to sew a uniform. And for those mothers who learned, they not only made the uniforms for their kids, they also sold their products to other families so they could make some money. And one of the very interesting effects of that is, as a result of being a working woman, and having some salary, they have much elevated status in their family. This is a quite interesting change.
But the most touching story came when I visited Burkina Faso. Before that, our people there told us that because of the scarcity of electricity, in some cities students had to study in the evening under the streetlight. So we decided to help them. And the vocational training center in Taichung actually developed a solar light system for them. I went to see them, and after it was charged, the solar light could last for four and a half hours. So the students can do their homework and mothers can do some household chores. So I decided when I stayed in the capital, to visit the students to see how they used the solar light, which is called a "Light from Taiwan." I was very much surprised to find the kids crowding on the ground with their mats, doing their French class homework. I was so touched. So I asked them with my broken French, "Combien de lampes voulez-vous avoir?" ("How many lamps do you want?") And the students said, "Beacoup!" (Many!) So I can send them to him. The next day I visited an elementary school and asked their teacher, "What is the difference before they used the lamps, and after that." The teacher said, "Their performance in monthly exams has improved." So I was very, very gratified. And even more interesting, my friends in Burkina Faso told me that as a result of the use of the solar lights, the birth rate went down. Well, this is my African experience.
Africa is far away. But this is not a problem for our friendship. I hope we continue the very fruitful results of our cooperation. We want to enlarge and deepen the cooperation so that we can share with you our experiences in developing a country.
Once again, I want to thank you for joining us tonight for Africa Day, and I hope our friendship will last forever.
Thank you very much! Merci Beaucoup! Obrigado!