Peru's representative lauds Taiwanese as honest

Taipei, April 3 (CNA) Peru's representative in Taiwan, Pedro A. Guevara, lauded Taiwan's core values of diligence, amiability and honesty, which he said are precious to foreign people, in a recent interview with CNA.

Describing himself as impressed with Taiwanese people's honesty and integrity, Guevara, who assumed his post as director of the Commercial Office of Peru in Taipei in December 2015, said he was surprised to learn that people could recover lost wallets in Taipei, with all the cash inside intact.

Guevara who was an advisor to Peru's prime minister and a chief economist responsible for the nation's development planning, said he had no high expectations of Taiwan before he assumed the post several months ago.

However, his perception of Taiwan changed significantly after he retrieved a lost notebook at the Taipei Metro lost and found service center.

What surprised him even more was when he saw a woman while recovering her lost wallet with all the cash inside at the service center, Guevara said, adding that this shows how honest Taiwan's people are.

As an expert in public policy making, the versatile Guevara is also a love song composer.

He sang a love song to his fiancee during a recent banquet hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in honor of foreign embassies and consulates in Taiwan, receiving praise from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who described his performance as on a par with a professional singer.

According to Guevara, he wrote the song when he and his fiancee fell in love at first sight when they were young. They met again three years ago after a period of separation, Guevara said, adding that they now treasure each other very much, so he decided to devote the song to her.

The song is not only about a love story but also the adventure of a diplomat, Guevara added.

The song is also the favorite of his mother and he promised to ask a professional singer to perform it.

Several years ago when he lived in Boston, Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle shocked him with her amazing voice, which prompted him to fly to Boyle's home in Edinburgh and meet with her briefly, although she did not agree to perform the song, according to Guevara.

(By Tang Pei-chun and Evelyn Kao) ENDITEM/J