President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of March 17 with a delegation of Irish senators. In addition to expressing his hope for continued strengthening of interaction and cooperation in the areas of economics and trade between the two countries, the president also explained the ROC government's substantive actions in promoting cross-strait reconciliation and peace in the East China Sea.
In remarks, the president first noted that March 17 is St. Patrick's Day, which is Ireland's national day. He said that having the opportunity to meet with Senator Maurice Cummins, who is leading a delegation to Taiwan for the third time, on this important cultural and historic day for Ireland, held a special significance.
The president commented that cooperation between the two countries has been quite close in recent years. Ireland in 2009 began providing ROC nationals with visa-free courtesies, and starting the following year, nationals of the two countries were allowed to exchange driving licenses from their home country for a local license without having to take an exam. In addition, the two sides in 2013 began promoting the Taiwan-Ireland Youth Working Holiday Programme, paving the way for greater interaction among youth of the two countries. All of these measures have been quite valuable in promoting substantive bilateral relations, the president said.
The president mentioned that the first Ireland-Taiwan Joint Business Council Meeting was held in May of last year in Dublin. The economic and trade delegation from the ROC held in-depth discussions in the areas of information & communications, energy, and banking with their Irish counterparts. In addition, the Taiwan Bio Industry Organization and PharmaChemical Ireland signed a letter of intent on cooperation, which has yielded impressive results. The ROC government is looking forward to inviting a delegation from Ireland to the ROC this year for the second Ireland-Taiwan Joint Business Council Meeting, which the president said will bolster momentum in economic and trade interaction.
The president also stated that amid the trend of global trade liberalization, an important objective of his administration over the past six years has been to enable Taiwan to actively participate in regional economic integration. However, due to Taiwan's unique diplomatic situation we had been impeded by one of our major trading partners—mainland China—to sign related agreements with others. To this end, after President Ma took office in 2008 Taiwan and mainland China signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement in 2010, which has served as a stepping stone for similar agreements. For instance, in 2011 the ROC and Japan signed the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement, while in 2013 Taiwan signed the ANZTEC economic cooperation agreement with New Zealand and the ASTEP economic partnership agreement with Singapore. In addition, Taiwan and the United States resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement that same year. All of these developments are concrete expressions of Taiwan's sincerity and determination in promoting trade liberalization, he said.
The president also remarked that the ROC government is not only actively pursuing entry to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, but also hopes to open negotiations with the European Union at an early date on a bilateral investment agreement and an economic cooperation agreement. The ROC also hopes to sign an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with Ireland as soon as possible, which would add further depth to bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
Ireland's economic development experience, President Ma stated, is worthy of study by other nations. He said that there are two main reasons behind Ireland's success. First, the fighting among different political parties there gave way to mutual cooperation, and second, Ireland and the United Kingdom reached an agreement, jointly addressing historical disputes and paving the way for bilateral cooperation. The president said that while Ireland covers only a small area and is located on the edge of Europe, it has maximized its potential over the past couple of decades and turned to unity and reform, giving it an important role in Europe. This, he stated, is worthy of emulation by the ROC.
The president then addressed the topic of cross-strait relations. He explained to the delegation that in looking at the cross-strait situation over the past 60 years, the first 30 years were characterized by actual military conflict, while for the latter 30 years the two sides engaged in a cold war that gradually gave way to interaction. The two sides ultimately turned to negotiation to replace confrontation. In 1992 the two sides reached a consensus on "one China," under which both sides uphold the "one China" principle, whereas the definition of which was left open to respective interpretations. Consequently, the two sides agreed on respective verbal interpretations as a means to resolve this issue. President Ma remarked that in fact Taiwan and mainland China have signed 21 agreements since 2008 and that the level of cooperation and interaction involving people, capital, and information is unprecedented. Stability and peace in the Taiwan Strait are at their highest levels in 66 years, he said.
The president furthermore stated that cross-strait reconciliation has also brought peace to the East China Sea and the South China Sea. As for the former, Taiwan and Japan in April 2013 signed a fisheries agreement that peacefully resolved a 40-year fishing dispute between the two. In addition, in May of last year personnel on a Philippine Coast Guard vessel fired on a Taiwanese fishing boat, killing a fisherman and damaging the boat. Subsequently, the ROC and Philippine governments reached a consensus, agreeing to refrain from using force in law enforcement actions, to notify each other prior to such actions, and promptly release detained fishing vessels and crews in case of arrest, he said, adding that this has effectively reduced bilateral disputes.
The delegation also included Irish Senators Terry Leyden, Darragh O'Brien, Imelda Henry, and Lorraine Higgins.