Taiwan Quick Take: Arkansas governor visiting

Mike Huckabee, governor of the US state of Arkansas, is scheduled to arrive in Taipei tomorrow for a four-day visit as the head of a seven-member delegation aiming to boost political, economic and cultural ties between his state and Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. During his stay, Huckabee will call on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and several high-level government officials. According to the ministry, Huckabee is very Taiwan-friendly and paid two visits to the country while serving as deputy Arkansas governor from 1993 to 1996. In 2004, he visited Taiwan in his capacity as Arkansas governor for the first time. At the 1993 annual meeting of the US Council of State Governments which Huckabee chaired, he proposed supporting Taiwan's access to the WHO. That year, the council passed two proposals in support of Taiwan's bid for WHO observer status and called on China to dismantle missiles targeting Taiwan, it said.