President Ma Ying-jeou met with US Congressman Austin Scott and Mrs. Scott on the morning of January 4. In addition to extending a warm welcome to Congressman and Mrs. Scott on their visit to Taiwan, the president explained the progress in Taiwan-US relations over the past three years.
President Ma characterized Congressman Scott as a young and promising politician, noting that he had served for 15 years in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1996 to 2010. He was inaugurated to the US House of Representatives last year, and was selected to be the leader of new Republican congressman in the 112th House of Representatives. President Ma praised Congressmen Scott, for his abundant experience in politics. He also pointed out that Congressman Scott is the first American congressman to visit Taiwan in 2012, making this visit particularly noteworthy.
The president noted after Congressman Scott joined the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, on August 1 last year he urged US President Barack Obama to agree to sell Taiwan F-16C/D fighter jets, and he also co-sponsored the Taiwan Airpower Modernization Act. Furthermore, Congressman Scott was also present at a reception held by the ROC representative office in the United States to mark the centenary of the ROC, and last year he closely interacted with ROC representative office in the United States when an agricultural trade goodwill mission from Taiwan visited the United States and signed a letter of intent on Capitol Hill. All of these gestures, the president said, demonstrate Congressman Scott's goodwill and friendship towards Taiwan, for which he expressed his deepest appreciation.
In turning to developments in Taiwan-US relations over the past three-plus years, President Ma mentioned that the high-ranking officials in the US administration have on many occasions expressed support for the ROC. For instance, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a speech in Honolulu, Hawaii in November last year specially pointed out the strong relationship between Taiwan and the United States, as well as the economic and strategic partnership between the two sides. Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell last October at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee put special emphasis on the Taiwan Relations Act, as well as the “Six Assurances” the United States has made with regard to Taiwan's security. President Ma noted that the US government in September of last year notified Congress of its decision to sell Taiwan US$5.85 billion worth of arms, which brings American arm sales to Taiwan over the past three-plus years to over US$18.3 billion, the highest level in the past decade. President Ma also commented that two high-ranking American officials recently visited Taiwan and that the United States on December 22 announced that Taiwan has become a candidate for inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program. All of these developments point to the substantive and positive progress seen in relations between Taiwan and the United States, for which President Ma reiterated his appreciation. He also expressed the hope that Congressman Scott will continue to resolutely support and provide assistance to the ROC.
Congressman and Mrs. Scott were accompanied to the Presidential Office by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuo-yu (董國猷) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真).