At 10:30 p.m. on June 13 a special China Airlines flight with President Chen Shui-bian aboard took off on a ten-day "Journey of Mutual Aid, Cooperation, and Concern" to four of Taiwan's diplomatic partners in Africa. This is Chen's third trip abroad in his first two full years in office. Before leaving he said that the main focus of this trip would be on medical and food issues in countries that have steadfastly supported the ROC.

Officials accompanying the president on this trip included Foreign Minister Eugene Chien, Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu, Council of Agriculture chairman Fan Cheng-chung, Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission chairwoman Chang Fu-mei, Government Information Office director Arthur Iap, and Taipei County executive Su Chen-chang, among others. Also aboard were businesspeople and representatives from the various parties in the legislature.

After a 21-hour flight, Chen's plane arrived in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. There it was met by an impressive military review, and Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade personally went to the boarding ladder to give President Chen a warm welcome.

President Chen's second stop in Africa was Sao Tome and Principe, where not only was President Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes personally on hand to meet the ROC party, but there was also a charming festive parade to welcome the arrivals. President Chen referred to the host country as "Africa's Formosa," while his host welcomed the convening in Sao Tome and Principe of a conference of ambassadors of the ROC in Africa.

To prepare for Chen's arrival, President de Menezes ordered a historically unprecedented mass clean-up, and declared a one-day holiday. Local citizens told Ko Chi-sheng, the ROC ambassador to Sao Tome and Principe, that they hoped President Chen would come more often, because not only is the country beautified, but there are more opportunities for employment.

On the afternoon of the fifth, President Chen arrived at stop number three, Malawi. Because Malawi is facing a serious famine, at a press conference between the two heads of state Chen announced the donation of food supplies to Malawi.

In dealing with Malawi's President Bakili Muluzi, who is aiming to change his country's constitution in order to extend his term in office, President Chen, speaking as a friend, offered some advice to his counterpart. He emphasized that democratic institutions are easily destroyed and difficult to construct, and that the views of citizens and political parties may change.

Chen's last stop on this African trip was Swaziland, where his host King Mswati III personally led the premier and members of the court to the airport to meet President Chen. The Taiwanese business association for Africa took the opportunity afforded by Chen's visit to hold a meeting in that country and elect a new chairman. Chen attended a lunch of the association, chatting happily in Taiwanese with the more than 400 Taiwanese businesspeople and members of Chen support groups who attended.

President Chen returned to Taiwan on July 10. With this trip he has become the first ROC head of state to visit virtually all Taiwan's diplomatic partners in Africa. President Chen described Africa as a place of sunshine and human warmth, rejecting the "dark continent" cliche. He said that he established warm friendships with the leaders of the host countries, making this a journey of sentiment a well as diplomacy.

As for the goals achieved on this trip, Chen said that "humanitarian diplomacy" is an asset by which Taiwan can connect with the world. Although Taiwan's efforts to enter the World Health Organization have been blocked, this will not prevent the ROC from actively providing humanitarian assistance to others.

Foreign Minister Eugene Chien noted that the US recently passed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows textiles from African countries south of the Sahara to enter the US free from quotas or tariffs. Chien said that this makes Africa even more profitable for investment than China.

Day Sheng-tong, president of the National Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, who has been to Africa three times, believes that "Taiwan's small enterprises will find a new lease on life in Africa." He says that besides enjoying the new AGOA benefits, Taiwan firms can also transfer their technology and equipment to Africa to tackle domestic markets there, and will surely enjoy considerable growth.

Taiwan's opposition parties, meanwhile, offered different opinions about President Chen's African trip. The legislative caucus of the Kuomintang said that President Chen, with his third trip in two years, is spending too much time abroad, with little to show for it. Aid to Taiwan's diplomatic partners now exceeds US$500 million, but fewer and fewer countries support Taiwan's admission to the United Nations, they said.

According to a public opinion survey by the United Daily News, Chen's approval ratings actually fell two percentage points after he went to Africa. 88% of respondents knew that the president had been to Africa, but 66% of these people could not name the countries he visited. However, 45% of respondents said that visits to diplomatic partners are helpful to stabilizing relations with those countries.

On his trip President Chen also criticized the opposition parties, and said that he would soon mobilize his "National Security Alliance" (a coalition of parties and individual legislators that Chen hopes will give the DPP a legislative majority). Chen opined that Taiwan's opposition parties are "following a self-destructive path" and that "they have reached the end of their destiny."

In a disappointing development on the diplomatic front, the PRC announced that it was establishing diplomatic relations with Nauru, a country that had formal ties with the ROC. Nauru President Rene Miller and PRC Assistant to the Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong signed a communique on July 21 in Hong Kong, establishing full mutual recognition as of that date and agreeing to an exchange of diplomats at the ambassadorial level.

When the news broke, the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs cabled Nauru, asking for a clear explanation within 24 hours. On the 22nd ROC Foreign Minister Eugene Chien held a press conference at which he severely attacked mainland China's "money diplomacy." He stated that the foreign policy of the ROC would absolutely not be dragged down into money diplomacy games against mainland China, and that the government of the ROC would not be drawn into any actions beyond its ability. In the future, foreign aid for countries in need will be set as a fixed percentage of GNP.

On the 23rd Foreign Ministry spokesperson Katharine S.Y. Chang announced the termination of the ROC's 22-year diplomatic relationship with Nauru, the cancellation of all assistance and cooperation agreements, the closure of the ROC embassy, and the recall of all technical assistance personnel stationed there.

The MOFA also set a new precedent by holding a seminar to ask the opinions of scholars and legislators on this diplomatic incident. In the end both government and opposition legislators endorsed the idea that Taiwan should not get involved in a contest of money diplomacy, and agreed that most citizens supported the position that Taiwan would not accept being blackmailed by any diplomatic partner state. Joseph Jau-shieh Wu, vice secretary-general in the Office of the President, said that he sees the incident as an opportunity to reexamine the abnormal diplomatic approaches of the past, in contrast to the policy of "humanitarian diplomacy" that has been promoted since President Chen took office.

After the MOFA announced the termination of diplomatic ties with Nauru, it immediately announced the beginning of a five-year cooperation plan with Haiti. Program areas include agriculture, medicine and public health, road-building, hospital construction, and the reduction of illiteracy. Total funding for the various projects will be about US$55 million.

In addition, Premier Yu Shyi-kun announced that he expected to begin a trip on August 5 to four ROC diplomatic partners: Haiti, Panama, Costa Rica, and Belize. Because there is little interest among Taiwan's business community in investing in Latin America, Yu has decided to depart from the past precedent of inviting business leaders to go with him. This trip will instead focus on cultural and arts exchange, displaying a different diplomatic approach.

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At President Chen's first stop in Africa, Senegal, he and his party were welcomed at a banquet by the president of the host country.

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On July 6, President Chen was warmly greeted by a large crowd at a welcoming ceremony in Malawi.