In lieu of a transit in Abu Dhabi as Foreign Minister James Huang (
This was Chen's first visit to the African country, which does not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
The president was on his way back from the nation's diplomatic allies Paraguay and Costa Rica.
After a two-hour refueling stop in the Dominican Republic, Chen and his entourage arrived in Libya at 8:15pm Taipei time last night.
They were received by Saif Qaddafi, the third-eldest son of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
Chen and his entourage were scheduled stay in Tripoli for about four hours before flying directly to Taipei, where they are expected to land at CKS International Airport at noon today.
According to CNA, topics to be discussed during Chen's four-hour stay in Tripoli were to include setting up trade offices as well as pursuing cooperation on fisheries, tourism, petroleum and high-tech industries.
Taiwan had diplomatic relations with Libya from 1959 to 1978. It maintained a trade office there from 1980 until 1997 after Libya switched its diplomatic recognition to China.
The office was closed in 1997 because of pressure from China.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators have accused the government of providing the United Arab Emirates military and economic benefits in exchange for allowing Chen to make a stopover in Abu Dhabi, although Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials yesterday dismissed the allegation.
Meanwhile pro-independence groups were campaigning to mobilize at least 10,000 people at CKS airport to welcome Chen home.
"President Chen has endured the US' insults on the transit issue in order to accomplish diplomatic tasks and fight for Taiwan's international space," Taiwan Hand-in-Hand Alliance leader Ng Chiau-tong (
"We think all the people should show their support for the president," he added.
Given that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is scheduled to return to Taipei around 10am from his trip to Singapore and Australia, there is some concern over the possibility of a clash between pan-green supporters welcoming the president and pan-blues welcoming Ma.
To express support for Chen's diplomatic efforts during his eight-day state visit to Latin America, the DPP yesterday issued a declaration at its weekly Central Standing Committee meeting urging all the people of Taiwan to back the president.
The declaration also stated that members of the party's Central Standing Committee would go to the airport to welcome the president home.
DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday also urged the public to support the president.
"The president has been fighting so hard to maintain the country's dignity, despite the dangers involved. Everybody should back him up. However, I am disappointed that some politicians would criticize him for their own political purposes," Su said during the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday.
Su said that Chen had called him on Monday afternoon and told him that he had talked to five presidents during his stay in Costa Rica, and that all of them had confirmed their firm friendship with Taiwan.
"It is necessary for us to reach out to the world if we want our voice to be heard in the international society," Su said.
also see story:
KMT accuses government of `buying' transit stop in United Arab Emirates
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is building nine new advanced wafer manufacturing and packaging factories this year, accelerating its expansion amid strong demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The chipmaker built on average five factories per year from 2021 to last year and three from 2017 to 2020, TSMC vice president of advanced technology and mask engineering T.S. Chang (張宗生) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “We are quickening our pace even faster in 2025. We plan to build nine new factories, including eight wafer fabrication plants and one advanced
RSS