President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of June 12 met with Corning Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wendell Weeks. The president expressed his gratitude to Corning for the contribution it has made to Taiwan's industrial development.
President Ma said that Corning has invested more capital in Taiwan than any other American company. In addition, it is a primary supplier of raw materials, especially industrial glass, to Taiwan's flat panel industry. He said Corning has made outstanding contributions to Taiwan's industrial development. President Ma said that he learned earlier in the morning from a report that Taiwan's AU Optronics Corp. plans to spend NT$100 billion building a 10th generation flat panel plant here. In the future, this will significantly increase demand for glass raw materials. President Ma said he is confident that Corning will be ready to meet that demand. The president said that the AU project is the largest high-tech investment plan announced since he took office, adding that he expects even more companies to announce investments in Taiwan in the future.
Mr. Weeks thanked President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with him. He also expressed congratulations to President Ma on winning the presidential election and on his inauguration. In addition, Mr. Weeks said he welcomes a new era of improved relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
In response, President Ma said that the new government hopes to change the history of interaction between the two sides. While this may require some time, the president said that everyone is now aware that the Taiwan of today is different from the Taiwan before May 20 when he took office. The president said that the negotiations that have begun between the ROC's Straits Exchange Foundation and its Mainland Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, may appear to be just a small step forward. However, the significance for Taiwan of this event is like that of Neil Armstrong landing on the moon. He said that the commencement of talks between the two sides marks a giant leap forward in the development of cross-strait relations.
President Ma stressed that the two sides require a more systematic negotiation mechanism and should pursue a more stable state of affairs. He said that the new government here has repeatedly given the message to neighboring countries that Taiwan will be a peacemaker, adding that he believes this stance is extremely significant for the people of Taiwan as well as the nation's friends overseas. President Ma said that the next goal is to establish chartered flights between cities on each side during weekdays. He admitted that this will require even more negotiations. Nonetheless, he said he is confident that as long as talks have gotten off to a good start, a foundation has been created upon which further negotiations will be held in the future.
Mr. Weeks was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming to meet with President Ma.