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Speaker welcomes possibility of former US official’s visit

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday welcomed the notion that US President George W. Bush might send former White House chief of staff Andrew Card to attend president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) May 20 inauguration ceremony. Wang said that if unconfirmed local media speculation that Card has been assigned to lead the US delegation to attend Ma’s inaugural ceremony proved true, it would indicate that Bush attaches great significance to the matter and that Ma’s taking the helm of Taiwan is highly acceptable to the US. “It seems to me the US has not previously sent anyone of higher status than Card to Taiwan for official functions,” Wang said, adding that “although Card is retired, it is widely known that he maintains very close ties with Bush.” “Card’s delegation to Taiwan would indicate that the Bush administration is highly positive about Ma’s election, particularly after both Taiwan and the US have squandered years in the work of consolidating bilateral relations,” Wang said. “I’m sure the US will keenly expect Taiwan’s new government to show goodwill to help improve US-Taiwan relations,” he said.
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