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On the evening of August 14 local time (morning of August 15 Taipei time), Vice President Lai Ching-te's delegation to the inauguration of President Santiago Peña Palacios of the Republic of Paraguay attended a welcome banquet hosted by our overseas community in Paraguay. The vice president expressed confidence that Taiwan-Paraguay relations will grow even stronger and our cooperation even deeper, saying that he hopes our community representatives throughout South America will stand united so that the international community will come to see Taiwan's capabilities.
In remarks, the vice president first extended greetings to overseas community members from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay, and noted that the next day will be a big day for Paraguay as incoming President Peña will be inaugurated. He stated that the diplomatic relations between our countries date back 66 years, so we are very important allies, which is why President Tsai Ing-wen has dispatched him as her special envoy to lead a delegation to extend our congratulations and convey the best wishes of the people of Taiwan to Paraguay.
The vice president noted that President Tsai had entrusted him with several objectives: first, that the delegation take advantage of every opportunity and every event to deepen the Taiwan-Paraguay friendship and expand bilateral cooperation in all areas to foster greater development and prosperity in both countries and advance the well-being of our peoples.
The vice president added that their second objective, having made the rare visit to South America, was to thank the representatives and other members of our overseas communities on behalf of the people and government of Taiwan, as despite being located in South America, the members of these communities always have their hearts in Taiwan, and that whatever Taiwan needs, be it large or small, they are always there to provide assistance, donating their money, and offering up their time. Especially during the pandemic, he noted, beside showing concern and providing assistance to Taiwan, they got together to help in the fight against COVID-19 in their local communities, showing the world that Taiwan has the ability to contribute to the international community. As their actions are very helpful to Taiwan, the vice president wanted to express his sincere gratitude on this trip.
The vice president stated that Taiwan's international participation has been affected by a regional hegemon, which is why President Tsai wants the delegation to use opportunities on this trip to interact confidently with international leaders and meet with envoys from other delegations, so that the international community can gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan's commitment to the values of democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights. He said that the people of Taiwan are warm, kind, and willing to fulfill their responsibilities as members of the global village, and that amid complex international circumstances, are doing everything they can in the Indo-Pacific region to maintain peace and stability while contributing to the international community.
The vice president said that when the delegation's charter flight was making its final descent to land in Paraguay earlier that morning, from the plane he could see community members on the ground waving our national flag to welcome them. This, he said, made him feel very excited, just as one might feel when coming across a good friend while far from home, and as if he had never left home at all, which was very heartwarming.
Noting that he and his delegation had visited incumbent President Mario Abdo Benítez earlier that morning, Vice President Lai said that President Abdo was an outstanding leader who had supported Taiwan at international venues. The vice president said that he felt very strongly that the Republic of Paraguay should maintain friendly relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan), not for the sake of a simple exchange of interests, but because our two countries have a shared commitment to the values of democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights.
The vice president stated that earlier that day he had also visited President-elect Peña, who emphasized that his administration would most certainly maintain diplomatic relations with democratic Republic of China (Taiwan) and would further deepen bilateral cooperative relations. He mentioned that during their meeting, they also discussed a number of cooperative projects.
The vice president expressed his firm belief that Taiwan-Paraguay relations will grow even stronger and our cooperation even deeper, saying that he hopes our community representatives throughout South America will stand united so that the international community will come to see Taiwan's capabilities.
Secretary-General to the President Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), Deputy Secretary-General to the President Alex Huang (黃重諺), Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Tah-ray Yui (俞大㵢), and Ambassador to Paraguay Han Chih-cheng (韓志正) were also in attendance at the event.
