Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) arrived in San Francisco on Monday for a layover en route to Colorado to attend the 2005 World Forum.
He received a warm welcome from more than 100 Taiwanese expatriates while attending a reception in Silicon Valley shortly after his arrival.
Chen told the gathering that relations between Taiwan and the US have become even closer, mainly because the Democratic Progressive Party administration has proved that Taiwan is not a troublemaker.
"President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has on numerous occasions stressed that Taiwan is an independent country with its sovereignty resting in its 23 million people and that Taiwan is determined to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait and willing to talk with China," the foreign minister said.
In contrast, he said, China is actually a troublemaker because its "Anti-Secession" Law codifies the use of "non-peaceful means" against Taiwan should Beijing perceive it is going to declare formal independence.
He said the main purpose of his trip is to attend the 2005 World Forum organized by the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
The World Forum is an annual conference of government officials, legislators, business and financial leaders and academics from major countries around the world.
During the closed-door meeting, senior US Cabinet officials and lawmakers will provide candid briefings on important policy initiatives, heads of international corporations will discuss business and financial developments and government officials from Europe, Asia and the Americas will debate international strategic and economic issues in a private and informal atmosphere.
The minister said he will take the opportunity to brief conference-goers on the latest political and economic developments in Taiwan and relations across the Taiwan Strait.
Yesterday he was scheduled to deliver a speech on Taiwan's progress in human rights protection and democratic reforms at a seminar organized by the World Affairs Council in San Francisco.
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