The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday unveiled the detailed itinerary for Vice President Chen Chien-jen’s (陳建仁) first state visit, which begins next week, during which he is set to visit the nation’s diplomatic ally the Dominican Republic and make two transit stops in New York.
Speaking at a news conference at the Presidential Office yesterday morning, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Hou (侯清山) said Chen is due to embark on a seven-day trip, which he termed the “Jen Hsiang Project” (仁翔專案), next Saturday and arrive the next day in the Dominican Republic.
Hou said Chen is scheduled to transit through New York, both on his way to the Caribbean nation and on his way back.
Photo: CNA
“During Chen’s stay in the Dominican Republic from Aug. 14 to Aug. 17 he is to attend the inauguration of Dominican President Danilo Medina on Aug. 16, as well as exchange opinions with Medina, Dominican Vice President Margarita Cedeno and other government officials on issues of mutual interest,” Hou said.
Hou said Dominican Minister of Foreign Affairs Andres Navarro officially extended an invitation to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to attend the inauguration of Medina, who was re-elected on May 15, during his visit to Taiwan to attend the president’s inauguration ceremony on May 20.
“Of all of the Dominican Republic’s diplomatic allies, Taiwan was the first to be invited to the inauguration ceremony, which demonstrates the two nations’ friendship,” Hou said, adding that Tsai subsequently appointed Chen as her special envoy for the event.
In addition to the inauguration ceremony, Hou said Chen would inspect some of the two nations’ bilateral cooperation programs, including the 911 emergency system, a care center for special-needs children, a Taiwanese-invested solar power plant and an orchid cultivation farm.
The vice president also plans to hold a banquet to entertain Taiwanese and members of staff at the Taiwanese embassy in the Dominican Republic, as a way of expressing the government’s gratitude for their dedication on the front line, Hou said.
Hou added that Chen would be leading a 14-member delegation that includes himself, the vice president’s wife, Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) and foreign affairs and security officials.
Hou said Taipei and Washington have a tacit understanding not to announce the details of the events Chen is planning to attend during his brief transit stops in New York.
Hou also dismissed concerns that an agreement reportedly reached between China and the Vatican — the nation’s only European diplomatic ally — on the thorny issue of the appointment of Chinese bishops could impede Chen’s scheduled visit to the Holy See next month.
“We have received no such information,” Hou said.
Chen’s planned trip to the Dominican Republic comes on the heels of Tsai’s nine-day overseas state visit to Panama and Paraguay, during which she transited through Miami and Los Angeles.
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