The Prime Minister of Taiwan, Vincent C. Siew arrived in Santo Domingo yesterday about 3:00 pm on a state visit that will last through 13 January. He was met at the airport by a welcoming delegation headed by Vice President Jamie David Fern?ndez Mirabal and his wife Lissy Campos de Fern?ndez. Prime Minister Siew heads a 40-member delegation of both Chinese officers and businessmen that are interested in investing in the DR. Ministers are included in the delegation: Minister of Foreign Relations Chih Chiang Hu, Minister of Economy Chih-Kang Wang, and Chien-jen Chen, Minister of the Office of Government Information, as well as the president of the Agriculture Council of the Executive Branch Twokwei Peng.The visit has the objective of strengthening traditional friendship ties between the two nations. The DR has always voted in favor of Taiwan in the United Nations and is one of the few nations that maintains formal diplomatic relations despite constant pressure from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to break ties with Taiwan as a condition of improving relations with mainland China.In remarks by the Prime Minister during the official welcoming ceremony at the National Palace last night, he thanked the DR for its decades of support and President Leonel Fern?ndez for taking time from his European trip preparations to meet personally with the Taiwanese delegation. Siew indicated that the businessmen in the delegation were interested in leasing some of the Dominican sugar mills, participating in the capitalization of the Dominican Electricity Corporation (CDE) and providing training programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Today the Prime Minister starts with a 9:30 am visit with Foreign Relations Minister Eduardo Latorre and Industry and Commerce Minister Luis Manuel Bonetti at the Hotel Quinto Centenario, where the Taiwanese delegation is staying. At 10:30 am Siew will travel to the National Congress for a courtesy call on Senate President Ram?n Alburquerque, followed by a 11:15 am meeting with Chamber of Deputies President H?ctor Rafael Peguero M?ndez. At 1:00 pm Vice President Fern?ndez Mirabal will host a lunch in the Prime Minister’s honor at the National Palace. At 4:30 pm Siew plans to visit the Faro a Col?n. At 8:30 pm Prime Minister Siew will host a dinner in honor of Vice President Fern?ndez Mirabal at the Restaurant Chino de Mariscos on Sarasota Ave.The wives of the visiting delegates, led by the Prime Minister’s wife Su-hsien Siew Chu, will visit the National Children’s Council at 10:00 am to make a donation, and then to the Center for the Prevention of Cancer at 10:30 am for the same purpose.
