Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) cancelled her flight to Gambia at the last minute yesterday evening due to what officials called "problems with the chartered plane linking Gambia and another destination." Previously the "other destination" was widely reported to be a Western European country.
Officials late last night said she will leave tonight and officials say she will definitely be in Gambia for the planned presidential inauguration ceremony. "Gambia's inauguration ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 21, and the vice president is scheduled to reach the country in the afternoon of Dec. 20," said Tao Wen-lung (陶文隆), director-general of the foreign ministry's department of African affairs.
"Today's trip has been cancelled. I heard it's due to some problems with regard to her linking flight, so her trip was deferred," spokeswoman for the Presidential Office Kuo Yao-chi (郭瑤琪) told the Taipei Times at 9:30pm last night.
"Because we have yet to finalize plans for the chartered plane linking Gambia and another destination, the original itinerary had to be changed," said Katharine Chang (張小月), spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, yesterday evening.
Lu's original itinerary had her departing for Gambia on Dec. 18 to take part in the West African nation's presidential inauguration ceremony scheduled for Dec. 21. She was to attend the ceremony on behalf of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), said Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) at the Legislative Yuan last week. Lu was to return to Taiwan on Dec. 25, after taking transfer flights to and from Africa via an undisclosed Western European country, sources said.
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