President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of December 16 at the Presidential Office met with President and CEO of Asia Society Dr. Vishakha Desai. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), thanked Dr. Desai for making the long journey to Taiwan. He extended her a cordial welcome and offered his appreciation.
President Ma noted that Dr. Desai used to be an expert in the field of dance. She studied art history and has taught at many prestigious universities in the United States. Asia Society has long devoted itself to various Asian issues, including political, historical and cultural, he said. The organization has a long relationship with Taiwan.
President Ma expressed his hope that Dr. Desai will take advantage of this trip to meet with representatives of many sectors, thereby further understanding the latest development here. Upon returning to the United States, he said, he hopes she will take advantage of the Asia Society platform to share her experiences in Taiwan with others, enabling the world to gain a better understanding of Taiwan.
Dr. Desai expressed her appreciation to President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with her. She said that she arrived in Taiwan on December 15, which was an important day as it marked the beginning of direct scheduled aviation and shipping ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. She said she wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to express her congratulations to President Ma on this development. Dr. Desai also told the president that Asia Society will hold its 2009 Asian Corporate Conference in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City. Reiterating what President Ma had noted, Dr. Desai said Asia Society has long maintained exchanges and interaction with Taiwan. She said she hopes experts, scholars and government officials from the ROC (Taiwan) will be able to find time to participate in next year's conference in Vietnam.
Joining Dr. Desai was Asia Society Vice President Mr. Todd Galitz. They were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Ching-shan Hou to meet President Ma. Also in attendance was National Security Council Advisor Dr. Philip Y. M. Yang.