President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday urged Costa Rica to raise its voice in favor of Taiwanese membership in international organizations this year, but the nation's president, Miguel Rodriguez, asked Chen to understand that Costa Rica may not be able give its full support to Taiwan.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao
"That is the reality of the situation, but it doesn't mean that our two countries' relationship is shaken," said Rodriguez.
"Especially now that Taiwan has undergone a peaceful transition of political power ... I believe the friendship between the two nations will be further consoli-
dated and that the two nations should not have any doubts [about their friendship]," said Rodriguez, as quoted by Tien.
Having completed the second-leg of his itinerary in Nicaragua, Chen yesterday led Taiwan's special delegation to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. It is the third stop on his two-week tour of six of Taiwan's allies in Central America and West Africa.
Chen attended a formal welcoming ceremony in Costa Rica's Presidential Office, where some 40 enthusiastic overseas Taiwanese shouted "Good afternoon, Mr President!" when Chen entered the room with Rodriguez. The national anthems of the two nations were played at the event.
Since Costa Rica has no military forces, no military ceremony marked Chen's arrival.
The two presidents exchanged opinions on wide-ranging aspects of membership in such international organizations as the WTO, the UN, and the WHO during their meeting. Chen said that Taiwan believed that President Rodriguez and the Costa Rican government could provide more robust support for Taiwanese UN membership bid than they have done in recent years.
Costa Rica has not publicly participated since 1996 in the annual efforts of several of Taiwan's diplomatic allies who have called for UN resolutions to reconsider Taiwan's membership in the world body, but Tien said that "the nation's performance should be more vigorous [this year] than in previous years."
At a tea party held with overseas Taiwanese and foreign affairs officials at the ROC's embassy in Costa Rica, Chen said that Taiwan should help its allies as much as it could and that its people should not look down on countries less developed than Taiwan.
"We should give our best assistance and show concern towards the human rights of our allies," Chen said.
"Since the Republic of China created an economic miracle and has the ability to assist more countries, I believe such a move is also our moral obligation as a member of the global village," he said.
Speaking to overseas Chinese afterward, Chen reiterated his point, adding, "We mustn't think that we are doing other nations a big favor by helping them, or think that they are sticking out their hands and asking something of us. Such a notion would indeed be wrong."
Halfway through the delegation's itinerary and sticking to a tight schedule, many government officials, including Tien and Government Information Office Director-General Chung Chin (鍾琴), fell asleep during the joint communique-signing ceremony. Chen also showed signs of weariness.
RSS