Chen thanks US for expressing its long support for Taiwan

During a meeting with 22 members of the US Congress in New York City on Monday, Pres-ident Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) reiterated his appreciation for the George W. Bush administration's support of Taiwan and expressed hope that the US can help the nation join more international organizations.

Business leaders, government officials and lawmakers from Chen's delegation also attended the banquet. In his speech, Chen thanked Taiwan's friends in the US for speaking out on behalf of Taiwan over the past year. Chen also expressed the hope that Taiwan would be able to enter organizations such as the WTO and WHO. The president also repeated his hope of attending the APEC summit in Shanghai in October to meet Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民). "Apart from economic and trade issues, [we] can also exchange opinions on cross-strait politics," Chen said.

But Chen was also eager to push for greater US recognition. "I hope I am the first but not the last one to receive a reception on this scale," Chen said.

"The treatment this time has been a good model. It should become a foundation for future visits by heads of state and other high-level officials from Taiwan."

Representative Rob Simmons said the significance of Chen meeting so many Congress members was about the quality of the people who were on hand. Simmons noted that the 22 US congress members hailed from all over the US, including many senior House members from both Republican and Democratic parties.

According to independent Legislator Eugene Jao (趙永清), who also attended the Monday banquet, four US Congressmen made speeches following Chen's address.

Both Republican representative Ben Gilman and Democrat Tom Lantos yesterday talked about the importance of "democracy and freedom," suggesting that the US should provide stronger protection to Taiwan.

Chen met with New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani before receiving members from a Taiwanese support organization based in North America.

In that meeting, the two discussed everything from baseball to politics to crime. Chen asked Giuliani to invite the New York Yankees to play a game in Taiwan, preferably this year when Taiwan hosts the Baseball World Cup in the fall.

Chen was then to leave for Wall Street and meet with Dick Grasso, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.

At noon, the first couple was to have lunch with US businessmen. At 2pm, the president and his wife were to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In the evening, Chen was scheduled to receive a number of important political and social figures, including former premier Tang Fei (唐飛), who is currently staying in New York; Steve Forbes, president and CEO of Forbes magazine; Casper Weinberger, chairman of Forbes magazine; Frank Carlucci, chairman of the US-ROC Business Council; and George Rupp, dean of Columbia University.

Late last night, the first couple and the delegation were to participate in a welcome party held by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.