President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of June 30 with a delegation led by US Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. In addition to extending a warm welcome to the delegation on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, the president also explained the nation’s efforts to promote women's rights, and some of its achievements.
In remarks, the president stated that Congresswoman Johnson is the first African-American female Congressional representative from Dallas, Texas. She has been in Congress since 1993 and has over 22 years of experience that makes her an important leader in the legislative chamber. She is also a member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus. President Ma also expressed his deepest gratitude to Congresswoman Johnson for supporting a wide range of resolutions friendly to the ROC including the reiteration of America's security commitments to Taiwan, continued US arms sales to Taiwan, and the negotiation and signing of a free trade agreement between Taiwan and the United States, as well as Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
President Ma remarked that since he took office seven years ago, his administration has consistently embraced a sincere, low-key, principled, and surprise-free approach in promoting ROC-US relations, and established the highest level of mutual trust in the past 36 years. Since 2011, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and current Secretary of State John Kerry have recognized the development of bilateral relations, referring to Taiwan as "an important security and economic partner." US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton also recently publicly reiterated that "a critical part of our strategy is building the comprehensive, durable, mutually beneficial relationship between the United States and Taiwan," he said.
Discussing ROC-US economic and trade relations, the president stated that the United States is the ROC's second largest trading partner, and that Taiwan has vaulted ahead of India and Saudi Arabia to become America's 10th largest trading partner. He also pointed out that scheduled passenger flights between Taipei and Houston were inaugurated on June 19 this year, which attests to increasingly close interaction. Several new developments have also been seen recently regarding the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the president noted that the ROC sincerely hopes to participate in the second round of TPP negotiations, thereby further strengthening the development of trade and economic relations with the United States.
President Ma noted that Congresswoman Johnson is extremely concerned about women's rights and in 2001 founded the A World of Women for World Peace Conference to commend outstanding women involved in conflict resolution through peaceful means. At the same time, the conference calls for greater attention to be paid to the persecution of women in wars or armed conflicts.
The president also discussed the female victims that the Japanese military government forced to become comfort women during World War II. The president said that he began working 20 years ago to help these victims fight for equality and justice, but unfortunately they have been unable to win legal redress in Japan. In fact, the ROC's first memorial for comfort women will be unveiled in August and formally open in December, and the president mentioned that "while the hatreds of war may be forgiven, the truths of war cannot be forgotten."
Honing in on women's rights, the president stated that the Executive Yuan in 1997 established the Committee of Women's Rights Promotion, and that after he took office, that organization was expanded to become the Executive Yuan's Gender Equality Committee. The ROC in 2011 also incorporated the content of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) into domestic law. The president explained that the government has already examined 228 laws, regulations, and administrative measures that are not in compliance with the CEDAW, and that 205 of them, or about 90%, were amended or revised by the end of this past May. Work will continue in the future to complete this task, he said.
The president also remarked that the United Nations Development Programme just announced its Gender Inequality Index (GII), and data generated based on that index shows that in 2013 Taiwan ranked fifth worldwide for gender equality and was the top-ranked nation in Asia. Although the ROC lost its seat in the United Nations in 1971, it has consistently abided by UN norms: Article 23 of the UN Charter that relates to the Security Council and Article 110 relating to Ratification and Signature still retain the name "Republic of China." Consequently, the president said, the ROC still embraces the spirit of the UN Charter and carries out policies associated with protecting women's rights and human rights, thereby underscoring the ROC's position and its determination to align itself with the global community.
President Ma stated that the government introduced a parental leave allowance program in 2009, and as of the end of this past May has distributed over NT$27.8 billion under this program, benefitting 310,000 people. A World Bank survey showed that this policy of Taiwan's offers the best protection for women. At the end of last year the ROC also amended the Act of Gender Equality in Employment to provide even more benefits such as paternity leave, pregnancy check-up leave, and an expanded scope for parental leave. These allowances and benefits are not limited to women. Anyone who meets the stipulated criteria can apply, including males, thus putting the government's policy of gender equality and caring for families into concrete practice.
The president told the visitors that he recently attended the joint graduation ceremony of the ROC's five military academies, and that the gender ratios of the students who shared the top ranking at each academy was the same as last year—two males and five females. In fact, he said, more and more young women are making careers in the military. Female officers and soldiers also comprise 10% of the volunteer force at present and have distinguished themselves in their duties.
Lastly, the president expressed hope that Congresswoman Johnson will continue to exercise her considerable influence in Congress to enhance ROC-US cooperation and maintain forward momentum based on the existing strong foundation.