President Ma Ying-jeou met with the Japanese delegation to the 37th East Asia Economic Conference, including the head of the delegation Shigeji Ueshima, on the afternoon of December 10 at the Presidential Office. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), extended a warm welcome and appreciation to the visitors for making the special visit to Taiwan to participate in the conference.
The president remarked that Mr. Ueshima has headed the delegation to Taiwan for the conference, and that this is a positive move with regards to promoting interaction between Taiwan and Japan. The president said that up to this point, the East Asia Economic Conference has been held 36 times. This conference, along with the previous Committee for the Promotion of Taiwan-Japan Cooperation, which has met 15 times, marks the most important interaction between Taiwan and Japan, he said.
President Ma commented that after many years of efforts, much of the content discussed in these conferences has become part of policy of the two nations. He said that the conferences are primarily dedicated to economic topics. Now, however, the ROC has designated this year as the Taiwan-Japan relationship as "The Year to Foster the Special Partnership between Taiwan and Japan." He said that a number of concrete measures have been achieved this year, including:
1. In fishing negotiations that the two countries completed in February of this year, the two sides reached a consensus on the enforcement of law at sea.
2. A youth working holiday agreement between Taiwan and Japan formally went into effect in June of this year. Under the agreement, 2,000 young people from each side between the ages of 18 and 30 can visit the other nation and engage in working holidays. This arrangement, the president said, is quite meaningful in promoting interaction between youth of the two sides.
3. On the cultural front, Taiwan is preparing to open a cultural center in Tokyo and working with friends in the Japanese parliament to ensure that treasures from Taiwan's National Palace Museum can be exhibited in Japan.
4. In terms of law, Taiwanese who reside in Japan were only allowed in the past to designate their nationality as China on their residency cards. At times, this resulted in problems. Now, however, the Japanese government has completed amendments to laws, enabling Taiwanese compatriots to designate their nationality as "Taiwan." The president said that this measure comes as a great relief to Taiwanese residing in Japan, who have sought such changes for over a decade.
5. On the academic front, the president said Representative Masaki Saito of Japan's Interchange Association provided support in the establishment of the Center for Modern Japan Studies at National Chengchi University here. This marks a new step forward in efforts to enable Taiwan's academic community to understand contemporary Japan.
6. With regards to economic and trade relations, the two sides have held economic and trade consultations attended by bureau chiefs instead of deputy directors-general in the past, which is the highest level of official to attend such meetings in 36 years.
7. Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan has established a branch in Sapporo, Hokkaido to provide for the needs of the nearly 280,000 Taiwanese tourists visiting Japan's northern island. Their branch is also helping to strengthen interaction between Taiwan and Hokkaido. Sapporo branch formally went into operation on December 1. President Ma said that Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-ping attended the proceedings, which highlights the importance that Taiwan attaches to the office.
8. The president also pointed to breakthroughs in aviation relations between the two sides. In the future when the new runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport is completed, flights between Haneda and Taipei's Songshan Airport will commence, with four charter flights daily. While both airports are considered domestic airports, charter flights for international routes are permitted. This will provide enhanced convenience for tourists, and particularly businessmen, as the flights will reduce land transportation time required getting to and from international airports by three hours.
President Ma told the guests that since taking office one emphasis of the ROC's external relations has been on improving relations with mainland China. Consequently, trade and investment relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have improved, with new systems and a new order in place. The president noted that some of Taiwan's friends in Japan have expressed concerns, worrying that the improvement in ties between Taiwan and mainland China might impact the development of Taiwan-Japan relations. Over the past one-plus year, however, the aforementioned eight breakthroughs in relations between Taiwan and Japan show that warming relations between Taiwan and mainland China will not impact the Taiwan-Japan relationship. In many cases, ties are becoming even closer, which is something that we desire, he said. President Ma stressed that the ROC looks to bolster relations with others across the board, and is not restricting itself only to focusing on ties with mainland China. He said he hopes the guests in attendance will understand that the ROC is one of the world's most important nations for investment and research and development. He said that of course we hope to develop relations with the rest of the world, and not only limit ourselves to a few countries.
Mr. Ueshima thanked President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with the delegation and expressed his affirmation for Taiwan's efforts to enhance relations with Japan. He said that the conference will discuss issues regarding cooperation in business and tourism between the two nations, and that President Ma's attendance will bring great honor to the event.