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Washington gearing up for first lady

The historic visit of first lady Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) to Washington next week is shaping up to be a trip of goodwill and diplomacy, and also a message of hope to the disadvantaged of America and Taiwan.

C.J. Chen (程建人), the head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Relations Office (TECRO) and unofficial ambassador to the US, Friday evening disclosed details of the visit to Taiwan correspondents in Washington.

"The significance of the visit is that she is a representative of the people, of the aspirations of the people of Taiwan, and she also represents the [progress] that Taiwan has made in the last few decades," Chen said.

"I think what is very important is that her visit is going to be very smooth, very successful, very useful," he said.

Large numbers of the national capital's pro-Taiwan elite are expected to flock to events put on in Wu's honor when she and her entourage will be in Washington from Sept. 22 to Sept. 26.

Some 250 members of Con-gress, think tank scholars, retired military officers and government officials and others are expected to attend a gala banquet in Wu's honor during the trip, arranged by the TECRO at Taiwan's historic mansion, Twin Oaks.

As many as 600 overseas Chinese community and business leaders are expected to attend another banquet hosted by the Chinese American community.

Wu will be feted by and address members of Congress at a Capitol Hill reception in the same room that Madame Chiang Kai-shek (蔣宋美齡) addressed Congress in 1943 during her historic visit to bolster US support for the ROC's fight against Japan.

The prominent conservative think tank, the American Enterprise Institute, will hold a reception for Wu which is expected to be attended by the cream of the China policy community in Washington.

Wu is scheduled to make a major address at the gathering, in which she will "share her experiences on Taiwan's journey from autocracy to democracy" the think tank said in its notice of the meeting.

There is a possibility that she will also make a public address while in Washington, but details are still being negotiated by TECRO and the State Department.

In addition, Wu will champion the cause of the disabled and disadvantaged by paying a visit to one of the US' premier rehabilitative medical facilities, the National Rehabilitation Hospital in downtown Washington.

She will also visit the national headquarters of the American Red Cross.

No meetings with government officials have been planned, but neither side has ruled them out. The State Department said only that "we do not anticipate" any such meetings, but would not go as far as saying none would be held. TECRO officials echoed the State Department position.

Both sides describe the trip as a private visit.

The idea for the trip came last summer, when C.J. Chen returned to Taiwan for his annual briefing, and suggested the DPP government start the wheels in motion for a US visit by the first lady.

The idea came at a time when some members of Congress and various Taiwanese officials were mooting the idea of a trip by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), but opposition on both sides of the Pacific shelved the idea. They felt a trip by the president to the US capital would be too disruptive, with little to gain.

As soon as Taiwan made the request, Washington was "very responsive," C.J. Chen said. The Americans he dealt with "all show great respect for [Wu]," he said.

Some 23 Taiwanese journalists are planning to accompany the Wu entourage.

The delegation will also visit New York and Los Angeles during its 11-day US visit.
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