President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) began a six-day visit to Latin America yesterday, while the first lady will head to Washington and Vancouver on a cultural trip.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (馬英九) yesterday said that first lady Chow Mei-ching’s (周美青) trip was “purely cultural” and that the president did not ask her to convey any message to Washington. Nor would she meet any US officials, he said.
At the invitation of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (雲門舞集), Chow will accompany troupe members in Washington on Friday and Vancouver on Feb. 5. The company is on a North American tour to present artistic director Lin Hwai-min’s (林懷民) 1998 classic Moon Water (水月). The troupe will perform at the Kennedy Center on Friday and Saturday and then as part of the Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver on Feb. 5 and Feb. 6.
Wang said although the president will be in the US at about the same time, the two are unlikely to meet.
san Francisco
Ma will visit Latin America through Saturday. The president and his delegation are scheduled to make a one-night stopover in San Francisco before heading to the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, and to make a short stopover in Los Angeles on the return trip, the office said.
The main purpose of Ma’s visit is to attend the inauguration of Honduran president-elect Porfirio Lobo Sosa tomorrow.
A trip to the Dominican Republic on Thursday was added at the last minute so the president could deliver relief to quake-hit Haiti and show the nation’s support to the victims.
Wang said the president would bring 10 tonnes of relief and medical supplies and they would be transported by land from the Dominican Republic to Haiti.
During his short stay in the Dominican Republic, Ma is scheduled to meet Dominican President Leonel Fernandez Reyna.
Ma also intends to visit Ambassador to Haiti Hsu Mien-sheng (徐勉生) and Consul Chi Wang-teh (齊王德), both of whom are hospitalized in the Dominican Republic’s capital, Santo Domingo, it said.
During his stops in the US, Ma plans to meet US lawmakers and local politicians to try and mend fences with Washington after the US beef controversy.
Ma will be greeted in San Francisco and in Los Angeles by Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan.
Disturbing find
In related news, hours before Ma left for his visit to Latin America, a cleaning lady found a bag containing a remodeled Berretta gun and 12 bullets behind a newspaper vending machine in Terminal Two of the Taoyuan International Airport.
The woman immediately reported the find to the police while airport police sent a team to the scene and are studying surveillance camera footage.
Additional reporting by CNA
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