Vice President Chen's delegation arrives in the Dominican Republic
Vice President Chen Chien-jen and his delegation arrived at Las Americas International Airport in the Dominican Republic on the afternoon of August 14 (Sunday) at 3:58 local time (August 15 at 3:58 a.m. Taipei time). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has codenamed this trip the "Jen-Hsiang Project" (Jen is the third character in the vice president's name, while "Hsiang" means to take flight in Chinese). After the airplane came to a stop, Republic of China Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Tang Ji-zen (湯繼仁) boarded the aircraft to escort the vice president and his wife off the plane and accompany them on a red carpet as they received military honors.
The vice president and his wife were accompanied by Ambassador Tang into the airport's VIP lounge for a brief chat with Dominican Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alejandra Victoria Liriano de la Cruz, after which they proceeded to their quarters at the Jaragua Hotel. Following their arrival at the hotel, Vice President Chen and Mrs. Chen shook hands with representatives of the expatriate community as well as ROC embassy personnel and their spouses, thanking them for waiting so patiently to welcome the delegation, and then accepted flowers from expatriate children.
In the late afternoon, Vice President Chen and Mrs. Chen were accompanied by Ambassador Tang on a tour of the ROC Embassy, where they received a briefing from the ambassador. In remarks, Vice President Chen started by thanking Ambassador Tang and embassy personnel for their considerable efforts to ensure a smooth visit. The vice president stated that this was the first time for him to lead a delegation on an overseas visit in his capacity as vice president, and said he hoped to understand the current state of relations between Taiwan and the Dominican Republic. On behalf of the government, he told the embassy personnel that they were all doing an outstanding job on the front lines of diplomacy in their efforts to improve ties with Taiwan's diplomatic allies.
The vice president remarked that the government is pursuing a policy of "steadfast diplomacy" and hopes to jointly devise projects with diplomatic allies to further mutual assistance for mutual benefits, thereby creating win-win situations for everyone. In implementing this policy, Taiwan's government hopes to take advantage of the technical strengths of Taiwanese companies, and will periodically evaluate the benefits yielded by cooperation projects.
Vice President Chen specially reminded the embassy personnel that they are in a foreign land and not necessarily all that familiar with the local environment, so they must be careful about safety for themselves and their family members. He also called upon the embassy personnel, who come from many different government agencies, to work together as a team in order to be as effective as possible.
While in transit in New York on the way to the Dominican Republic, the vice president was met by ROC Representative to the United States Stanley Kao (高碩泰) and Mrs. Kao, Acting Chairman Joseph R. Donovan of the Washington Office of the American Institute in Taiwan, and Director General Lily L. W. Hsu of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York. About 100 expatriates also showed up at the airport to offer a warm welcome to the vice president and his wife.