Lu puts pressure on Italy

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) should have the right to travel freely in Italy and the rest of Europe, much as she was allowed to stay one day in Rome in March. Describing Italy as a "decent country with international justice" at a banquet held by the Italian Economic and Cultural Promotion Office in Taipei in celebration of Italy's National Day, Lu said that the country was thinking independently when it allowed her to make a stopover despite Beijing's intimidation. Lu received a warm welcome during her short stay in Rome on her way to Hungary for an annual meeting of the liberal international in late March. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the stopover was an "ice-breaking" trip for top Taiwanese officials. Italy is Taiwan's fifth-largest trading partner. The Italian Parliament has 205 members who have joined a support-Taiwan group.