President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of August 12 departed on an overseas trip that will take him to the Republic of Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, both of which are diplomatic allies of the Republic of China. President Ma will be attending the inaugurations of Paraguay President-elect Fernando Lugo and Dominican Republic President-elect Leonel Fernandez.
President Ma explained that this is his first trip overseas since taking office on May 20. On his journey to Paraguay, the president will first fly to the west coast of the United States, after which he will transfer to a flight to Paraguay. The plane he is taking will make a short stop in Panama for refueling. After the president completes his trip to Paraguay, he will travel to the Dominican Republic on the third day of his trip. He will then return to the west coast of the United States from where he will board a flight that will take him back to Taipei. President Ma said that he will only be abroad for about six days, with his return to Taipei scheduled for August 19 Taipei time.
President Ma said that this trip overseas will feature several important differences from trips abroad made by previous ROC heads of state. First, he said, the circumstances and background of the trip are quite different from those made by other presidents. He said that over the past two-plus months since taking office, his administration has been working hard to improve cross-strait relations. A systematic negotiation framework is being established between the two sides, enabling relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to move forward. The president said that after the conclusion of the Olympic Games, negotiations between the two sides will resume. He said that the government realizes the ROC's diplomatic space is to a large degree linked to the state of the relationship between the two sides. As a result, after the commencement of a preliminary framework in which to carry out negotiations, the ROC will adopt the "flexible diplomacy", the president said. President Ma said he visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on August 4 to explain to the staff there this new policy, which includes such measures as advocating reconciliation and a truce between the two sides. He said this, however, is just a means to reach the goal of co-existence and co-prosperity. In other words, the president said the government hopes to pursue peace and prosperity not just in the Taiwan Strait, but in the international community as well. He said the ROC hopes that both sides can end their vicious cycle of competition in the international community and instead promote co-existence. The goal of this, he said, is as he stated in his inaugural address: "In light of our common Chinese heritage, people on both sides should do their utmost to jointly contribute to the international community without engaging in vicious competition and the waste of resources. I firmly believe that Taiwan and mainland China are open minded enough to find a way to attain peace and co-prosperity."
The second difference is that while he will transfer in the United States on his journey, the stopovers will be just that. He said that he will not engage in any activities that are incompatible with the nature of a stopover. The president acknowledged that some may say that this is not in the ROC's interests in terms of its relationship with the United States or might speculate that this marks a setback in ties with the United States. The president reiterated, however, that during the two-plus months since he has taken office, avenues of communication with high levels of the US government have been open and smooth. As a result, there is absolutely no need to use transit stops as a means to engage in activities that are incompatible with the nature of stopovers. He said the administration believes that if an alliance between two countries is to be strong, mutual trust must exist in high levels of government. In the past, he said, a lack of trust among high-level officials created a number of problems. The president said that the ROC hopes to address the various problems that arose in the past and make up for the troubles caused. He said he believes that mutual trust among high-ranking government officials will improve in the future. President Ma also recalled an event that transpired on July 30. US President George W. Bush in an interview at the White House that day said that he was "very pleased with the state of relations" between Taiwan and Mainland China. President Ma said that in the process of improving relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, relations between Taiwan and the United States have improved.
Lastly, President Ma said that he wanted to remind everyone that according to Article 141 of the ROC Constitution, "The foreign policy of the Republic of China shall, in a spirit of independence and initiative and on the basis of the principles of equality and reciprocity, cultivate good-neighborliness with other nations, and respect treaties and the interests of Chinese citizens residing abroad, promote international cooperation, advance international justice and ensure world peace." The president acknowledged that many people may not recall this particular clause of the constitution. However, his objective in bringing this to light is to demonstrate that he has a constitutional duty to make this trip. He said he wants to adopt a method different from that used in the past, but to achieve the same goal. As a result, he said he is full of confidence with regards to this trip and he also hopes this journey will not only enable the ROC to solidify its alliances with the countries he is visiting, but also to promote the possibility of peaceful co-existence between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in the international community.
The president said that he deeply appreciates Vice President Siew, government leaders and representatives of the diplomatic corps seeing him off at the airport. President Ma said everyone hopes that efforts can be made to create greater space for Taiwan in the international community.