On the evening of March 19, President Ma Ying-jeou concluded his trip to Central America, codenamed the Forever Peaceful Project, and returned to Taiwan. He delivered remarks upon arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to explain the results and benefits gained from his trip.
The seven-day Forever Peaceful Project, he said, had drawn to a successful conclusion. Undertaken in response to invitations from President Jimmy Morales of Guatemala and Prime Minister Dean O. Barrow of Belize—two Central American diplomatic allies of the ROC—and from President Jose Antonio Alvarado of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), this state visit was his 12th overseas trip as president. It may not have lasted long, he remarked, but the itinerary was extensive and the results substantial.
President Ma stated that during this trip he met with the leaders of five diplomatic allies—Guatemala, Belize, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines—which was unprecedented. It was clear that all of these heads of state and prime ministers cherish their countries' longstanding and friendly diplomatic ties with the ROC, and President Ma stressed that they will build upon the strong existing foundation by continuing to strengthen bilateral friendship and cooperation.
During this trip, said the president, he delivered speeches before the PARLACEN and the National Congress of Guatemala, using these opportunities to brief his listeners on the ROC's "viable diplomacy" policy and the results it has yielded. Among other outcomes, the policy has: consolidated ties with ROC diplomatic allies in Central America and the Caribbean; strengthened mutual trust and substantive cooperation between the ROC and the United States, Japan, and the European Union; boosted economic and trade ties with Taiwan's trading partners; and expanded Taiwan's opportunities for international participation. The ROC's diplomatic allies all had high praise for the ROC's aboveboard, dignified, pragmatic, and flexible conduct of its "viable diplomacy" policy, and for its foreign aid policy, based on the following three principles: "the purpose must be legitimate," "the process must be lawful," and "the implementation must be effective." Our diplomatic allies all indicated support for the ROC's continued adherence to these policies.
Commenting on the ROC's role as an international provider of humanitarian aid, the president pointed out that Taiwan has received international plaudits for the way it has stepped in over the past eight years to donate materials, money, and services throughout the world following disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, wars, famines, and the Ebola virus. Recipients of aid from Taiwan can be found all over the world from Haiti to Japan, from the Philippines to Syria, from West Africa to the Caribbean, from Nepal to El Salvador, and from Iraq to Guatemala. US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce strongly praised Taiwan on the floor of the Congress for precisely this reason. The chartered airplane used for this trip, in fact, was loaded with mosquito control equipment manufactured in Taiwan, which was presented to Guatemala's President Morales to help in the fight against the Zika virus and Dengue fever in remote areas of the country. The local news media devoted considerable positive coverage to this matter, which was a clear indication that humanitarian aid can indeed win support for the ROC among its diplomatic allies, from all political parties as well as the general public, thereby consolidating bilateral ties.
Commenting on the re-establishment of diplomatic relations on March 17 by mainland China and Gambia, President Ma stated that for the past eight years the ROC has faced its difficult diplomatic circumstances with a very positive attitude, guided by the principle that "effort can compensate for any lack of talent, and long familiarity leads to solid expertise." When Gambia broke off ties with the ROC two years and four months ago, the mainland authorities repeatedly stressed that they had done nothing to encourage Gambia to do that, and that they had only learned of it from the newspapers. Now, however, the mainland and Gambia have chosen to resume diplomatic ties just as he was overseas on a state visit. This simply should not have happened, for it undermines the mutual trust that Taiwan and the mainland had worked so hard to establish over the past eight years.
The more difficult the diplomatic environment is for the ROC, said the president, the more Taiwan's ruling and opposition camps need to close ranks for the greater good of the nation, but numerous legislators from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have recently done just the opposite in the Legislative Yuan, pointing to the Gambia issue as proof that the "viable diplomacy" policy has been a failure. "They're just rubbing salt in the wound," he said, adding that their statements were hardly in line with what President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said following her election when she urged fellow party members: "First, last, and always—be humble. And by all means, refrain from being disrespectful or insulting toward government officials." During meetings with the heads of state or prime ministers of five diplomatic allies during this trip, the president took the opportunity to invite them to attend the incoming president's inauguration on May 20, so it is extremely regretful, he said, that while he is putting partisan considerations aside during the home stretch of his presidency and working to further deepen diplomatic friendships, this is how the DPP conducts itself.
The president stressed that the restoration of diplomatic allies by mainland China and Gambia will not affect the ROC's international relations. Since taking office, he has actively sought to improve cross-strait relations, and despite the loss of Gambia as a diplomatic ally, the ROC still enjoys stable ties with its other 22 diplomatic allies. As for countries with which the ROC does not have official diplomatic relations, the ROC's ties with the United States, Japan, the European Union, New Zealand, Australia, and ASEAN are all the best they have been in the past 30 or 40 years. Commenting on Taiwan's participation in international bodies, the president noted that we have now taken part multiple times in the World Health Assembly and the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization, and have become a signatory to the WTO's Agreement on Government Procurement. In addition, although the ROC only has 22 diplomatic partners, 161 nations and areas throughout the world nevertheless provide visa-free courtesies or landing visas to ROC nationals, which is almost three times more than the number under the preceding administration. With the government pursuing a "viable diplomacy" policy and abiding by its three guiding principles for foreign aid, the government and people together have turned in a beautiful "report card" on the diplomatic front, said the president, who expressed confidence that the nation's citizens would be reasonable in their judgment on this score. President Ma called on the DPP to fairly assess the diplomatic achievements of the past eight years, and to pragmatically face the ROC's difficulties in the international arena, so as not to harm the country's foreign relations.
Commenting on his transit stops in Houston and Los Angeles, the president stated that the US authorities were highly respectful and attentive in their arrangements. This showed that the sides have open channels of communication and solid mutual trust. The president thanked the US government for its excellent handling of the stopovers.
The president also mentioned that he came in contact with many expatriates during the trip. While they have successful careers overseas, they also still care very much about Taiwan and very enthusiastically support the ROC in its diplomatic work, for which he is very thankful.
In concluding his remarks, the president expressed gratitude to the people of Taiwan for their concern and support, and thanked the delegation members, the traveling press corps, and the China Airlines cabin and ground crews for working seamlessly together to make the trip a success. The president also offered his best wishes for solid and lasting diplomatic ties, and a continued deepening of bilateral relations.
Among those present for President Ma's remarks were: Secretary-General to the President Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權); National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chao Ke-ta (趙克達); Deputy Foreign Minister Bruce J. D. Linghu (令狐榮達); Overseas Community Affairs Council Vice Minister Roy Yuan-Rong Leu (呂元榮); Republic of Nauru Ambassador to the ROC Ludwig Dowong Keke (head of the foreign diplomatic corps in the ROC); Guatemalan Ambassador to the ROC Olga Maria Aguja Zuniga; and Jasmine Lauren Kidd, Charge d'Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Belize.