President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen, wearing a cowboy hat and western-style bolo tie, grinned as he emerged from the Taste of Texas restaurant and showed off a pair of custom-made, black eel-skin boots, inlaid with his initials and containing the US and Texas flags.
The boots were a gift from Chen's host, US Representative Tom DeLay, who represents a Houston area constituency and is the majority whip in the House of Representatives.
PHOTO: AP
Three other US representatives from the area -- Kevin Brady, Gene Green and Sheila Jackson Lee -- were among some 250 guests who attended the informal steak lunch meeting with Chen.
Chen avoided making any controversial remarks to reporters in Houston, saying only in Mandarin that he was having a good time and that his new boots were a comfortable fit.
Chen also waved to several hundred flag-waving supporters among Houston's Chinese and Taiwanese communities who turned out to greet him and chanted "Taiwan, Yes!"
PHOTO: AP
He did not address the crowd.
A slightly smaller group of demonstrators waved Chinese flags and chanted "one China." Police kept the two groups apart and did not report any scuffles.
DeLay told the crowd that the timing of Chen's visit on the eve of the anniversary of the June 4, 1989 crackdown at Beijing's Tiananmen Square was noteworthy.
After the lunch meeting, DeLay accompanied Chen to a baseball game between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Enron Field.
Sitting behind home plate, Chen enjoyed Coke and popcorn and chatted with his host during the game.
From his seat, Chen could see supporters sitting in a block behind center field in an upper deck, holding up signs spelling out, "I [heart] Taiwan independence." Thousands of Taiwanese expatriates lifted giant banners, saying, "Welcome President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan" to give Chen a hearty welcome.
Meanwhile, opponents also sat together in a block along the third base line, holding up their placards with their own message: "Taiwan is a part of China."
Before leaving Houston to head back home, Chen spoke at a dinner held in the Post Oak Doubletree Hotel, where he and his delegation stayed. Chen, full of emotion, said that it was the third time he had visited Houston.
His second visit was 14 years ago, when he was accompanied by his wife and kids. Chen said that in the 14 years since that visit, he had served as a legislator, Taipei mayor and now as the president of Taiwan. He stressed that he even spent time in jail in 1986.
"My hard work over these 14 years also represents the development of Taiwan's democracy," Chen said.
The US State Department gave Chen permission to stop off in the US and meet members of Congress en route to and from Latin America, drawing criticism from China, which sees the stops as a form of diplomatic recognition.
The range of activities undertaken by Chen and the meetings with members of Congress mark a departure from the practice of previous US administrations, which imposed tight restrictions on what visiting Taiwanese leaders could and could not do.
"I think the Communist Chinese need to understand that we have an administration that will no longer kowtow to the Communist Chinese," DeLay said.
The first couple and their delegation are scheduled to arrive at CKS Airport at 7:25 this morning.
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