President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of January 26 with President of the Paraguayan Congress and Senate Mario Abdo Benitez and his wife. In addition to thanking Paraguay for speaking up for Taiwan in various international venues, President Ma also expressed hope that the two countries will maintain lasting diplomatic ties and enjoy shared progress and prosperity.
In remarks, President Ma noted that although this was the first visit to Taiwan for Mr. Abdo Benitez, his father, the private secretary to former President Alfredo Stroessner, had once visited Taiwan and received a decoration while here. Thanks to this family connection, said President Ma, Mr. Abdo Benitez has always felt a special affection for Taiwan. His visitor was elected to the Senate of Paraguay in 2013, and in July 2015 was further elected president of the Paraguayan Senate, thus rising even higher than his father had done.
President Ma also commented on the other members of the delegation. Senator Arnaldo Euclides Giuzzio Benitez, for example, is widely known in Paraguay as the prosecutor who led the investigation into the kidnapping and killing of the daughter of former Paraguayan President Raul Cubas Grau and handled several high-profile anti-corruption cases. Senator Luis Alberto Castiglioni Soria, visiting Taiwan for the sixth time and currently serving as the Block A leader of the National Republican Association-Colorado Party (Asociacion Nacional Republicana Partido Colorado, ANR) in the Senate, had received the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon when he came to Taiwan in February 2004 as the vice president of Paraguay. And Senator Oscar Ruben Salomon Fernandez, an important opinion leader within the ANR who was visiting Taiwan for the fourth time, had received the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon when he came to Taiwan in January 2005 as president of the Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies.
Despite the great distance between the two countries, said President Ma, Paraguay is nevertheless the ROC's important diplomatic ally in South America. The two countries have had frequent interaction at the highest levels in recent years, and maintain close interaction in a variety of areas. This clearly highlights friendly and stable relationship between the ROC and Paraguay.
President Ma mentioned that last December Paraguay was hit nationwide by its worst flooding in 50 years, and Taiwan acted promptly by donating US$100,000 in relief aid to the Paraguayan government and by pooling private donations from the ethnic Chinese community in Paraguay to purchase household items for the relief effort. These actions enabled Taiwan to make good upon its policy goal of acting as a provider of humanitarian aid.
President Ma further noted that 2017 will mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the ROC and Paraguay, and during this time the two countries have cooperated on many different projects aimed at improving the lives of ordinary people. Examples include: the "Che Tapyi"—a cooperation project between the two countries to construct public housing in Paraguay; the Feed Production Project; the Pacu Fingerling Breeding and Cultivation Project; the Orchid Industry Development and Tissue Culture Plantlet Propagation Project; and the Health Information Management Efficiency Enhancement Project in Paraguay. The idea of all these undertakings is to act upon the three key policy focuses put forward by President Horacio Cartes: poverty reduction and social development; inclusive economic growth; and the integration of Paraguay into the world community.
President Ma expressed sincere gratitude to the Paraguayan government for the efforts it has made in international venues over the years to help Taiwan secure opportunities for international participation. Mr. Abdo Benitez spoke on Taiwan's behalf in a speech delivered at the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament last September at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York, and President Cartes, during an address at the General Debate of the UN General Assembly, praised Taiwan for defusing cross-strait tensions and ensuring peace and stability in East Asia. The Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies has in four consecutive years since 2012 adopted a resolution calling upon the executive branch to support the ROC's efforts to take part in the next United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and join the International Civil Aviation Organization. The Paraguayan Senate has passed the same resolution in 2014 and 2015, and has also passed another one calling upon the executive branch to support the East China Sea Peace Initiative that ROC has put forward to address the Diaoyutai Islands dispute. In addition, the Paraguayan government has on multiple occasions expressed support for Taiwan at the World Health Assembly and at senior-level meetings of the UNFCCC. The government and people of Taiwan, said the president, appreciate these gestures very much.
The president stated that the ROC was a founding member of the UN, and that whereas it lost its UN seat in 1971, the Charter of the UN still has the name "Republic of China" in it. Even though the ROC government is unable to participate in various UN activities, the ROC still is committed to upholding UN ideals, he said, adding that the ROC actively seeks to take part in UN work. The ROC government, based on its obligations as a member of the international community, has now incorporated six UN covenants into domestic law.