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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Diplomacy
Clinton to visit on Sunday
Former US president Bill Clinton will meet President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) during a whirlwind visit to Taipei on Sunday that could annoy China. Clinton will arrive in Taipei at the invitation of the government and deliver a speech on democracy and security, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶隆). Lu said a dinner meeting between Clinton and Chen was being arranged for Sunday. Clinton visited China this week where he praised Beijing's efforts to combat AIDS and pledged his foundation would donate drugs and offer training to doctors. As president, Clinton sent two aircraft carrier groups to waters near Taiwan in 1996 to cool tensions after Beijing test-fired missiles in an attempt to sway voters in Taiwan's first direct presidential election that year.

■ Diplomacy
Lu to visit Latin America
Vice President Annette Lu 　(呂秀蓮) announced Wednesday that she will be heading a business delegation to visit El Salvador and Guatemala next month in a bid to cement Taiwan's relations with the two Latin American countries. Among the issues to be discussed will be proposals to build a "Taiwan Park" industrial zone in El Salvador, and to establish a vocational training center called the Taiwan Institute for Development. The visit comes amid speculation that China is making investment overtures to some or all of Taiwan's 25 diplomatic allies in the region, urging them to recognize Beijing rather than Taipei. Guatemalan Economics Minister Marcio Cuevas plans to visit China in April, prompting Taipei to worry that Taiwan-Guatemala ties are shaky. Lu's visit will begin March 12.

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