Order of Belize Conferred on Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen
As part of her state visit to the country, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was bestowed the Order of Belize during a brief ceremony on Thursday night at the Museum of Belize. The Order of Belize is the second highest honor that one can receive. President Tsai’s commitment to strengthened diplomatic ties with Belize over the past years has been seen through several bilateral cooperation agreements in areas such as infrastructure and education. Both countries have enjoyed strong ties since 1989 and as such it was only fitting to confer the Order of Belize on President Tsai. News Five’s Hipolito Novelo reports.
Carlos Perdomo
Carlos Perdomo, Cabinet Secretary
“His Excellency the Governor General, the Chancellor of the National Honors and Awards has invested and by these presence does invest in her Excellency, Dr. Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) the Order of Belize.”
Hipolito Novelo, Reporting
The Order of Belize is the second highest honor that can be conferred to a person by the Government of Belize. It is the highest order that Belize is able to give to a foreign national and on Thursday night that order was conferred on Taiwanese President Dr. Tsai Ing-wen. The ceremony was held at the Museum of Belize and first to arrive was Prime Minister Dean Barrow who was accompanied by wife Kim Simplis-Barrow. President Tsai arrived a few minutes later and was first greeted by Foreign Affairs Minister Wilfred Elrington and later by Governor General Sir Colville Young who accompanied President Tsai for a brief viewing of the art pieces on display at the museum. During the ceremony, President Tsai officially received the Order of Belize in recognition of her ‘outstanding leadership and distinguished record of friendship and support to Belize’.
Colville Young
Sir Colville Young, Governor General of Belize
“It is given only to a person who has earned it by their contribution to Belize, their love for Belize and all of these qualities have been shown by the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Of all the orders I have bestowed, I may truly say this one gives me about the most pleasure because everything I have read and heard about the President is caused for admiration and it is a symbol of the bond of friendship and cooperation between our two countries and our peoples.”
Since President Tsai’s rise to power in Taiwan, her government has boosted its financial contributions to Belize.
Wilfred Elrington
Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs
“The difference was so great that our Prime Minister was head publicly to praise the efforts of your Ambassador, Ambassador Liu for the splendid work that he was doing in helping to move the development agenda forward. So that your contribution for the past two years has conduced greatly the development and security of Belize and for that, we are exceedingly grateful. We want to thank you and give you the assurance that we will continue to be very supportive of your national aspiration and do all in our power to strengthen ties of friendship that binds us.”
Comforting words for President Tsai who has stepped up efforts to cement diplomatic ties with its last remaining allies, including Belize:
Tsai Ing-wen
Dr. Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) [Translated]
“Since the establishment of diplomatic relations thirty years ago we have enjoyed close cooperation in the fields such infrastructure, agriculture, public health and medicine, education and culture, ICT among others. The excellent outcomes of our cooperation have been widely praised. I am sure that Taiwan and Belize will continue to build on this strong foundation to advance the sustainable development of both sides.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Hipolito Novelo.
