President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of December 1 at the Presidential Office met with Brookings Institution President Strobe Talbott. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), extended a warm welcome and appreciation to Mr. Talbott for making the long journey to visit Taiwan.
President Ma said that Mr. Talbott has had an illustrious career in government, diplomacy and the media. Under Mr. Talbott's leadership, the Brookings Institution has become a leading public policy research institute in the United States. The president said this visit to Taiwan by Mr. Talbott, which comes shortly after the conclusion of the US presidential election and ahead of a new administration taking office in January, is highly significant.
President Ma said that joining Mr. Talbott on his visit is Dr. Richard Bush, who is an expert on both Taiwan and China. Dr. Bush was a former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan. The president said Dr. Bush is also familiar with cross-strait affairs and wrote a book on the topic – Untying the Knot – that was published in 2005. The book, he said, incisively addresses the relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and has won a high degree of praise. President Ma commented that the development of relations between the two sides over the past three years has coincided considerably with the predictions made by Dr. Bush in his book.
The guests expressed interest in issues including the financial crisis and cross-strait relations. President Ma explained the government's response to the financial crisis, saying that it has adopted a number of measures with respect to the price of gas and electricity, providing deposit insurance coverage for all bank deposits, and expanding domestic consumption. The president also noted that the consumption voucher initiative will soon be implemented. In addition to working to maintain financial order, the government will continue to stimulate economic growth and consumption, he said. With regards to cross-strait relations, President Ma said that since taking office, his administration has strived to have Taiwan fill the role of being a peacemaker. This not only is beneficial to Taiwan and nearby areas, but also is a positive development for friends and allies, thereby creating a win-win situation. The president said that over the past six months, the trend toward peace in the Taiwan Strait has become more and more pronounced. He said the government is cautiously optimistic on the outlook in this regard. While a number of challenges still need to be overcome, the government will continue to resolve them, he said.
The delegation from the Brookings Institution included institution President Talbott, Brookings Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies Director Bush, and Assistant Director Kevin Scott. The delegation visited the Presidential Office in the morning to meet with President Ma. Also in attendance was National Security Council Director-General Su Chi.