President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of September 4 at the Presidential Office met with German Parliamentarian Mr. Wilhelm Josef Sebastian, who is chairman of the Berlin-Taipei Parliamentary Circle of Friends, and his visiting delegation. President Ma, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a warm welcome to the visitors.
President Ma said this marks the third visit to Taiwan by Mr. Sebastian, who previously was awarded the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon in recognition of his long-term efforts and contributions to promoting friendly relations between Taiwan and Germany. The president noted that members of the visiting delegation come from the Christian Democratic Union, the Social Democratic Party, the Greens, and the Free Democratic Party, adding that this is virtually a microcosm of the German Bundestag. This not only demonstrates that membership in the friendship group transcends party boundaries, but also signifies the weight of the Berlin-Taipei Parliamentary Circle of Friends in the German parliament.
President Ma particularly mentioned two events indicating that Germany is paying close attention to Taiwan-related issues. First, he said, after the results of the March 22 presidential election here were released, Germany's foreign minister issued a statement via the ministry's website congratulating Taiwan on successfully holding the election. Secondly, Germany's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 29 publicly expressed that it is pleased to see policies aimed at fostering peaceful development of relations between Taiwan and Mainland China. This is the first time that such remarks had been made, the president said.
President Ma stressed that Taiwan and Germany have long been economic partners. Last year, bilateral trade reached US$12.2 billion. Germany is Taiwan's sixth largest trading partner. At the same time, Taiwan is Germany's fourth largest trading partner in Asia. Trade and economic ties are quite close, the president said, adding that he desires to see even further development of bilateral relations in the future.
The president said that he has held public office for over 20 years and that he has visited Germany many times. For instance, prior to the establishment of the Executive Yuan's Mainland Affairs Council, he went to Germany on a fact-finding mission and visited Germany's agency that handles East and West German affairs. He said that the trip was of enormous benefit in the planning and establishment of the ROC government's Mainland Affairs Council. The president noted that he visited Bonn many times and that he stayed at a hotel on the banks of the Rhine River. Each morning, he said, he would jog along the banks of the river, providing him many opportunities to interact with local residents.
The guests not only expressed their appreciation to President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with them, but also extended their best wishes to the president on behalf of all members of the Berlin-Taipei Parliamentary Circle of Friends. Members of the delegation said they are extremely positive on the government's efforts to improve relations with Mainland China since President Ma has taken office. They also said they welcome that dialogue has replaced confrontation.
The members of the Bundestag's Berlin-Taipei Parliamentary Circle of Friends visiting Taiwan this time include Vice Chairwomen Angelika Krüger-Leißner and Irmingard Schewe-Gerigk, as well as Members of Parliament Hubert Deiter, Hans-Peter Thul, Renate Gradistanac, and Hans-Michael Goldmann. The delegation was led by Berlin-Taipei Parliamentary Circle of Friends Chairman Sebastian. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office to meet President Ma by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Ching-shan Hou and Representative to Germany Wei Wu-lien. Also in attendance was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Ho Szu-yin.