Vice President Annette Lu (
On her first visit to New York as vice president, Lu will receive the same welcome during her three-day stopover as that enjoyed by President Chen Shui-bian (
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Lu voiced gratitude to the US government, which "nearly met my every request on the itinerary arrangement of the trip. In principle, the courtesy treatment [to be extended to me] is the same as that extended to President Chen."
Although barred by the US government from attending any official meetings, Lu will meet with US congressmen, members from think tanks and Taiwanese business leaders.
Besides meetings with political and business representatives, Lu is scheduled to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art and "Ground Zero," the remains of the World Trade Center destroyed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Lu said she will donate US$50,000 collected from non-governmental organizations from Taiwan to relief organizations.
But, "the primary objective [of our delegation] for the stopover in the US is trying to attract foreign capital and talent, which are badly needed for numerous development projects," Lu said at the CKS International Airport prior to her departure.
Lu said she had plenty of information for the international business community, introducing the government's plan to transform Taiwan into a global logistics center and developing it into a technologically advanced nation dubbed the "Green Silicon Island."
After Taiwan's admission to the WTO, The vice president said she would seize the chance to explain to the US the new pivotal role Taiwan will be playing.
Another main point on Lu's list is trying to convince Taiwan-born talent to return to work in their motherland.
Given the number of Taiwan-born graduates now working in high-tech industries in the US and elsewhere, Lu said that she would try to persuade this talent to return to work in Taiwan.
"We hope to woo multi-national enterprises and special talent to Taiwan as the government is launching several major national development projects" covering biology and telecommunications as well as shipping and aviation, she said.
Tomorrow Lu is due to leave for Nicaragua to attend the presidential inauguration of Enrique Bolanos on behalf of Chen. She will be accompanied by Eugene Chien (簡又新), deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office, and Lan Chih-min (藍智民), vice foreign minister.
From Nicaragua, the vice president will fly to Paraguay for an official three-day visit, and returning from Latin America is scheduled to spend two days in Los Angeles.
The delegation is to return on Jan. 19.
Also See Story:
Editorial: Lu plays Chen's bad cop
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique