NEW YORK -- Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's president, recently made a whirlwind international tour. During a three-day transit in New York three weeks ago, he received the 2003 award from the International League for Human Rights. He attended centennial independence anniversary celebrations of Panama, then flew to Alaska, where Gov. Frank Murkowski conferred the state's highest award on him.
While a U.S. State Department spokesman maintained that there had been no change in the treatment of a visiting Taiwan president, the facts indicate there has been a breakthrough for Taiwan.
During his first stopover in 2000, Chen was confined to his hotel and forbidden contacts with members of Congress. During Chen's transit in New York in spring 2001, he was allowed to visit a museum and the New York Stock Exchange, but the number and kind of people he could meet was strictly limited.