Prime Minister Dean Barrow left Belize on Friday, May 16, en route for Taipei, Taiwan, to attend the inauguration of the 12th president of the Republic of China on Taiwan.
Taiwan’s new president, Ma Ying-jeou, an emigrant of Hong Kong, replaces former two-term president, Chen Shui-bian. Ma now has a shot to run Taiwan for a four-year term.
Barrow is one of 530 foreign dignitaries who were expected to attend Ma’s inauguration.
Ma Ying-jeou, a Harvard Law School graduate, is of the Kuomintang (KMT) party. He is being promoted as the leader to usher in a new era for the country, particularly where its conflicts with China over sovereignty are concerned.
Ma’s KMT won a landslide victory over the Democratic Progressive Party on March 22.
This is the second peaceful transfer of power in Taiwan’s young democracy. The first transfer took place in 2000, when Chen (of the DPP) took over the reins of power from KMT.
The parallelism in the political stories of Taiwan and Belize is that both current political leaders have shattered two-term reigns of their predecessors by stunning margins, and they have both committed to “clean government.”
Taiwan has long been an ally of Belize, and is our country’s number one sovereign lender.
In Taiwan, P.M. Barrow is accompanied by Works Minister, Anthony “Boots” Martinez. Barrow and Martinez are not scheduled to return to Belize until Friday, May 23.
Meanwhile, his deputy, Gaspar Vega, will act as P.M.