The nine-day, eight-night mission of "steadfast diplomacy" and building mutually beneficial relationships has come to a successful close. I want to take this opportunity to briefly explain to the public what we have achieved on this trip.
When I departed Taiwan, I had said that "we depart with high hopes, and intend to return home with much to show." So we worked extremely hard every single day.
During the course of the trip, we held bilateral talks with seven presidents and vice presidents from Taiwan's diplomatic allies, and exchanged ideas with over 20 US Congress members and political leaders. Thanks to Panama President Juan Carlos Varela's invitation, Taiwan was able to participate in the inauguration ceremony for the Panama Canal Expansion and witness the historical moment together with politicians and dignitaries from many countries.
During discussions in Paraguay, we and President Horacio Cartes concluded that our markets and resources are complementary, and that going forward we can pursue the path of mutual benefit and assistance to enhance mutual cooperation.
Everything we did on this trip was to put into practice the concept of steadfast diplomacy. Steadfast diplomacy is an attitude. It's about having our own feet on the ground, seeing and experiencing things with our own eyes, and using all the experience we have cumulated to achieve breakthroughs in actual diplomatic situations.
Sharing is important to us, and we hope to share Taiwan's values and technologies with our international friends, and to contribute our efforts to global prosperity and peace. We also value learning. We hope that in the course of bilateral exchanges we can all learn from each other, and that our diplomats and colleagues stationed overseas can continue to better themselves and prepare for the next challenge. We are putting even more emphasis on cooperation. So for future cooperation projects, we will move away from one-sided investments and toward mutually beneficial arrangements whereby both sides discuss thoroughly and plan together, under the principle of financial openness and transparency.
We firmly believe that going forward, steadfast diplomacy is the best strategy for handling Taiwan's diplomatic affairs. Our foreign policy will uphold the principle of mutual assistance for mutual benefits. Bringing Taiwan closer to the world is the government's unwavering direction, and we will continue to work towards that end.
This trip has come to an end. Again, I want to express my gratitude to all of our delegation members for the effort they have made.
While we were abroad, domestic challenges never stopped coming, and although I was out of the country, Taiwan was always on my mind. I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the family of Huang Wen-chung (黃文忠), captain of the Hsiang Li Sheng fishing boat (which was struck by a missile accidentally fired by a naval patrol vessel). Mrs. Huang (the captain's wife) was right: Something like this should never have happened. I promise the people of Taiwan that the government will handle all relevant follow-up issues with the utmost sense of responsibility.
When you're governing, there is no such thing as jet lag. When the tasks of an overseas mission end, other tasks begin. Many important issues await me, so we keep working. Thank you.