A selection of gifts that President Tsai Ing-wen will present to top-level officials during her upcoming state visit to Paraguay and Belize was unveiled at the Office of the President Aug. 8 in Taipei City.
 
The items were handcrafted for the trip by celebrated Taiwan artists and spotlight diverse aspects of the nation’s culture, history and natural environment, according to Office of the President spokesperson Chang Wen-lan. They also symbolize the enduring friendship between Taiwan and the South and Central American allies, she said.
 
Standouts include a woodcarving of grapes and vines by Huang Sha-jung and a porcelain sculpture of a rooster by Heinrich Wang. These will be offered to Paraguayan President-elect Mario Abdo Benitez and outgoing President Horacio Cartes, respectively.
 
Tsai will present incoming Paraguayan first lady Silvana Lopez Moreira with a ceramic tea set. Featuring a pot with a Taiwan blue magpie handle, the gift was created by acclaimed artist Zhang Mei-yun based in Yingge District of New Taipei City.
 
For Belize Prime Minister Dean Oliver Barrow and his wife Kim Simplis Barrow, the president has prepared porcelain sculptures of flying geese and a phoenix by Henry Shen. Belize Governor-General Colville Norbert Young will receive a golden lacquer thread sculpture featuring a Formosan rock macaque by Yan Chin-yi.
 
Scheduled for Aug. 12-20, the state trip is Tsai’s fifth since taking office in May 2016. She will be accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu, National Security Council Secretary-General David Tawei Lee, as well as lawmakers and business representatives.
 
The president’s itinerary in Paraguay includes attending the inauguration of Abdo Benitez, inspecting collaboration projects, meeting with expatriate businesspeople and technical mission staffers, and presiding over the plaque-unveiling ceremony for the construction site of a Taiwan-Paraguay industrial and technological university.
 
After arriving in Belize Aug. 16, Tsai is scheduled to address the country’s National Assembly, attend an award ceremony for Taiwan Scholarship Program recipients, visit educational facilities and host an event for expatriates.
 
The president will stopover in Los Angeles and Houston on the outbound and inbound legs of her trip, respectively. (KWS-E)