President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) arrived in Palau yesterday on the first leg of his Pacific island tour, a journey made more significant by his use of "Air Force One" and flying over Japan's aerospace.
A record 80 senior officials, including Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), saw Chen off at the Sungshan Air Base in Taipei yesterday.
Su said he brought the entire Cabinet to see Chen off because the president has shown "steadfastness" in demonstrating the nation's sovereignty at a time of political turmoil at home.
Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳), who accompanied Chen on the trip, confirmed that the president had planned to fly over Philippine air space en route to Palau and then through Japanese air space on his way home.
"However, media speculation had given China an opportunity to exert tremendous amount of pressure on the Philippines," Liu said. "We then asked the Japanese government about the possibility of flying through its airspace and obtained their approval yesterday [Saturday] afternoon."
Liu said that "Air Force One" yesterday passed through both Japanese and US air space and that was why the president extended his appreciation to the US and Japanese governments before his departure from Sungshan yesterday morning.
The "Air Force One" and a China Airlines plane carrying Chen's entourage and press corps took off at 8:30am. The president's plane was escorted by three F-16 jet fighters until it left the country's territorial air space.
During his three-day trip, Chen will attend a summit with the nation's six Pacific allies in Palau and is scheduled to deliver a speech to Nauru's parliament. He is due back in Taipei on Wednesday night.
When asked by reporters on "Air Force One" about his first trip on the plane, Chen said he felt "good and pleased."
Before departing Taipei, Chen delivered a speech at the air base, describing the trip as "a small step for Air Force One, but a giant step for `head of state' diplomacy.'"
"Air Force One is different from a commercial flight because it represents the nation's sovereignty," he said. "Former presidents did not take Air Force One on their overseas trips for technical or political reasons. Now we have the opportunity to use it, there is no reason not to take advantage of it."
Chen said the nation's international presence faces brazen suppression by China, but this does not mean that Taiwan must forsake its dignity and the right to pursue international activities.
Chen met with Palauan President Tommy Remengesau at the Presidential Office immediately after his arrival in Palau.
During the 30-minute meeting, Remengesau expressed gratitude to Chen, saying that the Taiwanese leader helped boost Palau's scuba diving industry by 42 percent. Chen took a scuba dive during a visit last January.
Chen, who is scheduled to participate in a fishing contest tomorrow, said that he hoped to catch a big fish so that the whole world would know that Palau is a good place to fish.
In a reference to his guest's domestic political woes, Remengesau said that he could empathize with Chen because he himself is facing call for his resignation following a fierce presidential election.
Later in the afternoon, Chen held bilateral talks with leaders of other allies, including President Kessai Note of Marshall Islands, Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia of Tuvalu and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.
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