Among President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) top priorities in Sao Tome and Principe is to meet Huang Min-non (黃閔農), a young Taiwanese man who is doing his diplomatic service on the islands in the Gulf of Guinea.
Chen arrived in the West African country's capital, Sao Tome, yesterday after a three-day visit to Senegal.
President of Sao Tome and Principe Fradique de Menezes and government officials were on hand to greet Chen and his delegation when they arrived and Chen was given a 21-gun salute.
PHOTO: AFP
"The scheme of sending our young men to do diplomatic service in our African allies was first implemented two years ago. President Chen hosted the farewell ceremony himself and promised that he would visit them. In this tour to our African allies, the president will meet six of these young men in three different countries," said Deputy Secretary-General to the President Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
Huang, a graduate of National Taiwan University's School of Medicine, is the only Taiwanese doing his alternative service in Sao Tome and Principe. The other five are in Malawi and Swaziland.
"President Chen said these young men not only fully demonstrate the spirit of "Taiwan volunteerism" (志工台灣), but they are also the new lifeblood of Taiwan's diplomacy," Wu said.
"The president specifically asked his aides to make visiting and commending these young men a priority on the trip."
An aide to the president said that Huang, who is now working at Taiwan's medical unit in Sao Tome and Principe, comes from Tainan County, just like the president.
The aide added that in his application for alternative service, Huang had written that he'd made Chen's famous comment, "Be what you are and do the best you can" (是什麼，做什麼；做什麼，像什麼) his own personal motto.
"Huang is doing a very good job in Sao Tome and Principe and was even summoned by President Fradique de Menezes to take a photograph with him.
When Huang's parents learned from the media that the president would be making a trip to Africa, they wrote a letter to him, expressing their hope that he would visit their son, the aide told the Taipei Times.
Chen plans to have his photo taken with each of the six young men and give them copies of a recently-published book of photographs of his first two years in office.
Wu also said that "diplomatic alternative service" can be regarded as part of the DPP administration's efforts to adopt multilateral strategies to expanding Taiwan's diplomatic relations.
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