President Ma Ying-jeou, in the company of Vice President Vincent C. Siew, on the morning of May 23 at the Presidential Office met with a delegation of parliamentarians from Australia led by Senator Stephen P. Hutchins. President Ma, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), extended a warm welcome to the guests and thanked them for attending the inauguration ceremonies for the twelfth-term president and vice president.
President Ma said that over the past decade, interaction between Australia and Taiwan has increased substantially, not only with regards to trade, investment and tourism, but also in terms of exchanges on both the central government and local government levels. On the central government level, President Ma said that he understands that over half of all members of parliament have joined the Australia- Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, and that this group is the largest one in the Australian Parliament. On a local level, Kaohsiung and Brisbane have inked a sister city agreement, as have Taipei and Perth and Taipei and Gold Coast. The president said the number of Taiwan tourists to Australia continues to rise, which is another indicator of the frequent contacts between the two countries.
President Ma asked Vice President Siew to elaborate on various economic topics of interest to the guests. Vice President Siew said that in the future the new government here will work on expanding domestic demand, fostering industrial reorganization and upgrading, and using soft power in pursuing normalized relations with China. With regards to promoting investment, the vice president specially noted that Australia will be an important partner for Taiwan.
Senator Hutchins first expressed his gratitude to President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with the delegation. He noted that President Ma made a visit to the Australian Parliament in 2004 when he was still the mayor of Taipei. At the time, a number of his parliamentary colleagues, regardless of party affiliation, made an effort to meet with the then-mayor. Senator Hutchins praised President Ma's inauguration address, saying that it made a deep impression on the members of the delegation visiting Taiwan. He noted how Asia is one of the key markets for Australian products and that security in the Asian region has a far-reaching impact on Australia. He said that the positive vision for cross-strait relations embraced by President Ma carries great significance for Australia.
Senator Hutchins led the delegation, including Parliamentarians Chris Pearce, Mal Washer, and Thomas Mark Bishop, and Perth Mayor Lisa Scaffidi to the Presidential Office in the morning to meet with President Ma and Vice President Siew. Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco H. L. Ou accompanied them to meet the president and vice president.