After a two-night stopover in New York, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his delegation yesterday left for El Salvador the first leg of his Latin American tour. Chen took off from Newark airport at about 1pm local time yesterday.
On Tuesday, Chen met separately with representatives from overseas Chinese organizations and US-based Taiwanese expatriate associations.
Chen also hosted a banquet for expatriate leaders on Tuesday night. Chen Chien-jen (
In his speech at the party, Chen called for continued efforts to promote Taiwan's national sovereignty regardless of party affiliation. He also called for equal emphasis on both "new expatriates" (
"Old expatriates" refers to people who emigrated to the West from China [sometimes via Taiwan] around the end of World War II or earlier. "New expatriates" means Taiwan-born people who moved there over the past couple of decades.
Chen said he had been given much better treatment than on his previous stopover, when he was allowed to meet with only 15 expatriate representatives.
He also said jokingly that he might have received better treatment on this trip because he was accompanied by First Lady Wu Shu-chen (
Wu has been confined to a wheelchair since a politically-motivated car accident in 1995 left her paralyzed from the waist down. Chen said he would try to bring his wife along on his future overseas trips.
For her part, Wu replied to criticism of Chen's trip in the domestic media: "For Taiwan to stand up and walk out [onto the international stage], the tour is necessary," Wu said. Chen's trip has come under criticism from some people in Taiwan who fear it may affect cross-strait relations.
Chen also met with a large number of academics and business leaders on Tuesday.
Wu took time to go shopping along Fifth Avenue, accompanied by Chang Ming-tsan (張明燦), wife of former premier Tang Fei (唐飛). At the Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, Wu bought clothing and presents for her daughter Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤), who is getting marryied soon.
Chen and Wu visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art separately, due to Chen's tight schedule of meetings. Arriving at the museum, Chen's motorcade and the accompanying media corps attracted considerable attention from passersby.
While visiting the Egypt and Jacqueline Kennedy exhibitions, Chen was mobbed by fans in the museum who tried to break through the security team to shake hands with him. He stayed for about one hour at the museum.
Wu arrived there about half an hour later. She bought some mementos at the Jacqueline Kennedy exhibition.
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