Chen may visit Libya, official says

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) may go to Libya in May, despite the lack of official ties between the two countries, a government official said yesterday.

Presidential Office Secretary-General Mark Chen (陳唐山) said that the president may make the stopover in Libya while confirming a planned visit to Costa Rica on the same trip.

"We have received an invitation from the Costa Rican government to attend the inauguration of President Oscar Arias on May 8. I believe President Chen is more than happy to attend the event," Mark Chen told reporters at the legislature yesterday morning.

When asked whether Libya would be included in the schedule, Mark Chen said that government agencies are assessing such a trip and looking into arrangements.

According to an Apple Daily report yesterday, Chen will visit Libya as well as the nation's political allies Costa Rica, Haiti, Paraguay, Chad and Burkina Faso.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂) refused to confirm the report.

"We can't reveal any details about this for the moment because China might try to obstruct the arrangement," Kao said in response to questioning in the legislature's Organic Laws and Statues Committee.

Kao said that the ministry has many plans for "head of state diplomacy" and many destinations are under consideration.

On Jan. 18, President Chen announced that he had accepted an invitation from Saif Qaddafi, the third-eldest son of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, and had promised to visit the north African state in the near future. He made the remarks after the two met at the Presidential Office.

President Chen also asked Saif Qaddafi to pass on an invitation to his father, asking him to visit Taiwan.

However, the Libyan government denied that Muammar Qaddafi had extended such invitation and reaffirmed its commitment to the "one China" policy.

Libya's announcement was made as Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (李肇星) began a two-day official visit to the country.

"We reaffirm that we recognize only one China," Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Shalgam said in a statement on Jan. 19.

Taiwan had diplomatic relations with Libya from 1959 to 1978. Taiwan maintained a trade office there from 1980 to 1997 after Libya switched its diplomatic recognition to China. The office was closed in 1997 due to pressure from China.

Officials at the Presidential Office attributed Taiwan's recent good relationship with Libya to the long-term efforts of the National Security Council. Officials stressed that it is important for Taiwan to build good relations with oil-producing countries in both Africa and the Middle East.

Regarding whether President Chen will stop in Washington or New York, Mark Chen said that they have not yet filed a request.

An official from the Presidential Office said yesterday that President Chen Shui-bian's plan to make stopovers in the US during visits to Taiwan's diplomatic allies is not expected to be affected by his decision to cease the function of the National Unification Council and the application of the National Unification Guidelines.

Meanwhile, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Hwang (黃瀧元) yesterday said in the legislature's Budget and Final Accounts committee that the ministry hasn't obtained the order to arrange a presidential trip to Libya.

But Hwang said that the ministry's Department of Central and South American Affairs has started to arrange a high-level visit to Costa Rica.