First lady Wu Shu-chen (
"I am very excited to be here," Wu told some 250 guests at a banquet held in her honor at Taiwan's historic mansion, Twin Oaks, Monday night. "But I do hope that next time I can come with President Chen. And I'm sure that will happen," she said to enthusiastic applause from the congressmen, local officials, think-tank scholars and other Taiwan supporters.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES
At a pre-banquet press conference, she said through an interpreter that she was happy to have relied "on myself to have the opportunity to come to Washington, DC, since the diplomatic situation is so difficult." But, she said, "I would be more than happy to be able to come here with my husband and I do hope that I will have the opportunity some day."
Wu had good words for the George W. Bush administration's treatment of her trip to the US.
"They're taking very good care of me. I'm very grateful. They haven't limited my visits to any place. They've helped with the security, and I'm very grateful to the United States," she said.
In an unexpected speech to the guests, Wu praised the close relations between Taiwan and the US and thanked Washington for its support of Taiwan in the face of military threats from China.
"Despite the fact that Taiwanese live under the daily threat of the People's Republic of China's 400 missiles across the Taiwan Strait, as well as their development of an unlimited warfare strategy, we nevertheless thank the United States for standing by Taiwan for all these years," she said.
"US-Taiwan relations are stable because we share common values such as democracy, freedom and human rights. I hope the relationship between our two countries will grow closer and friendlier in the future. We also hope that such a friendship will be everlasting."
During the press conference, Wu hinted that US-Taiwan communications may be much deeper and broader than commonly believed, when she broached the subject of contacts between the two.
"We have very open and direct communication with the United States. In fact, some things are top secret. It is not convenient for me to disclose them here, but we do keep very close and open channels of communication," she said.
During the day, the first lady laid a wreath at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and spent more than an hour at the first ladies' exhibit at the capital's National Museum of American History.
That last event prompted a number of questions from Taiwan-ese reporters covering her trip about what she felt and what sort of first lady she'd like to be.
One question evoked this response: "As a [past] member of the legislature, I differ from the first ladies of other countries, as I exercised real power before this role. I was a senator first, then first lady, not like [Hillary Rodham] Clinton, who was first lady first, and then senator. I'm more like a politician rather than a first lady."
Wu is expected to meet Clinton on Wednesday at a congressional reception for her on Capitol Hill.
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