President Tsai delivers remarks aboard aircraft after departing for Central America
President Tsai Ing-wen departed onJanuary 7 (Saturday) at 10:00 a.m. Taipei time for Central America on a trip codenamed the "Ing-Jie Project." In remarks delivered over the aircraft's public address system, the president thanked colleagues at the Office of the President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other related government agencies for their planning and preparations, and called on everyone in her accompanying delegation to work together to advance Taiwan's diplomacy.
President Tsai noted that included in the delegation were six legislators from both the ruling and opposition camps, one county magistrate, and friends from the business community. Once they stepped aboard this aircraft, said the president, they all became members of a single team that will be representing the 23 million people of Taiwan, so we all need to work together to advance Taiwan's diplomacy.
President Tsai also thanked the 35 friends from the news media accompanying the delegation. Noting that the trip would be a grueling one, the president stated that thanks to their news reports, the people of Taiwan would be able to better understand Taiwan's diplomatic allies and get an appreciation for the friendship that the people of those countries feel toward Taiwan. At the same time, their reporting would also give people in Taiwan a chance to see the sort of hard work that Taiwan's overseas diplomats are doing day in and day out.
The president closed her remarks by thanking the Eva Airlines flight crew for their thoughtful arrangements and services. "After the aircraft lands," said the president, "we will have a jam-packed itinerary awaiting us, so let's all give this our best effort. Thank you, everyone!"