President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday praised the landmark visit to the US capital by his wife Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) saying that the first lady's achievements in successfully expanding Taiwan's international visibility had set an example for all Taiwanese women and disabled people in the fight for the country's diplomatic status.
"Her performance proves that women are by no means frail," said Chen.
"What she has done is much better than I, the head of state, have ever done," he said.
Chen stressed that Wu and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), who paid a surprise visit to Indonesia last month, both exercised Taiwan's "soft power" which could be used to counter tough pressure from China.
"Our friends in the US and the international community can learn of Taiwan's development from authoritarianism to democracy via the first lady's personal explanation," the president said.
"Though I was really worried about my wife's physical condition before she left, worries which sadly proved well-founded during the trip, I want to thank those compatriots who supported her and who ... helped the first lady accomplished her mission successfully," Chen said.
After the 11-day diplomatic trip to three major US cities, the wheelchair-bound Wu returned to Taiwan at midnight Sunday. She was originally scheduled to hold a press conference yesterday to talk about her achievements on the trip. On the advice of doctors, however, Wu decided to stay home and rest.
Chen, accompanied by Lu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) and other high-ranking officials, praised the first lady warmly. Chen took it upon himself to explain the diplomatic significance of her visit.
``She cannot stand on her own feet, but she used a wheelchair to push Taiwan to the United States, to Washington,'' Chen said of his wife, who has been confined to a wheelchair for 17 years after a politically motivated traffic "accident" during the martial law era.
Given Wu's bold example there was no reason why other Taiwanese should be either pessimistic or lacking in energy in pursuing Taiwan's diplomatic goals, Chen said.
Lu said that Wu's performance again showed how Taiwanese women helped their husbands, especially those who were political dissidents, to work for political reform.
"Despite Beijing's suppression and her physical pain, Wu, on behalf of her husband, created a landmark for Taiwan's diplomatic history by deploying her iron-will to complete the trip," Lu said.
"I hope that the first lady takes good care of herself," Lu added, "because she may choose to run for the presidency or the vice presidency" in future.
Lu said, however, that "wife diplomacy" should not be developed as a normal foreign policy method; the goal was after all that the president himself should be able to go anywhere in the world as he pleases, not as China allows.
The visit was the first to Washington by the wife of a Taiwanese leader.
"With the first lady's US trip, Taiwan people can now walk with their heads up high," said Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟), secretary general to the president, "and we can say that this is a most dignified moment for all Taiwanese, while Taiwan's democratic achievements will be acknowledged by more countries."
A highlight of the visit was a unanimous vote by the US House of Representatives to welcome Wu, and she was warmly greeted by at least 20 congressmen, including bipartisan congressional leaders, at a Capitol Hill reception.
In Washington, which is off-limits to her husband due to a lack of diplomatic ties and pressure from China, Wu also met with senior US government officials, among them Undersecretary for International Security Affairs John Bolton, a noted supporter of Taiwan.
Deputy Secretary General to the President Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who accompanied Wu on her visit, said during yesterday's news conference that Wu not only completed all the designated goals of her trip -- including increasing Taiwan's international visibility and publicizing Taiwan's democratic achievements and contribution to the global anti-terrorism campaign -- but she also successfully delivered Taiwan's goodwill to US friends, which obviously had upgraded the relations between two countries.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
RSS