A total of 28 delegations from around the world attended the swearing-in ceremony. Among the distinguished guests were the presidents of Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela.
After the ceremony, Chen attended a reception party and a Catholic Mass presided over by Archbishop Luigi Bianco. National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Tseng Hou-jen, Deputy Foreign Minister Javier Ching-shan Hou, and Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Tang Ji-zen were also present.
On the previous day, Chen met with Dominicans who benefitted from scholarships that allowed them to study in Taiwan. He said he hopes the scholarship recipients are successful in their careers, and that he is confident higher education cooperation between the two countries has helped build lasting friendship.
After the meeting, Chen visited the nearly completed solar power station set up by Taiwan’s General Energy Solutions in Monte Plata province. He said the facility is the largest of its kind in the Central American and Caribbean region, and demonstrates the Dominican Republic’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
The project is an excellent example of what can be accomplished through international cooperation, the vice president said, and will encourage Taiwan businesspeople to invest in the Caribbean ally.
Following his visit to the power station, Chen, along with officials of both nations, attended a luncheon hosted by Cristina Lizardo, the first female president of the Dominican Republic Senate. In the afternoon, Chen visited a care center for the disabled, where he was received by the Dominican Republic first lady.
The vice president went on to tour the headquarters of the nation’s emergency response system in the company of Dominican Republic Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito, Vice Minister of the Presidency Zoraima Cuello, and Dalvert Polanco, director of the emergency center. Chen lauded the effectiveness of the system, for which Taiwan donated nearly 1,000 domestically made police motorcycles and over 90 ambulances in 2013 and 2014.
In line with Tsai’s policy of steadfast diplomacy, which operates under the principal of mutual benefits, the emergency system is a prime example of what can be accomplished when two nations work together toward a single goal, Chen said.
The vice president and his 14-member delegation, which includes National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Tseng Hou-jen and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Javier Ching-shan Hou, will return to Taiwan Aug. 20 after a stopover in New York. (WF-E)
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