President Ma noted that members of the visiting group are all heavyweights in the United States on China-related research. Professor Goldstein has been at Harvard for many years. Meanwhile, Professor Thomas Christensen in the past served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and he has a comprehensive understanding of Asia-Pacific topics. Mr. Alan Romberg is a Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center and the director of that organization's East Asia Program. Mr. Romberg previously served as Deputy Spokesman of the State Department and has made extremely accurate observations on Asia and Taiwan issues. Professor Iain Johnston is from Canada and is highly proficient in Chinese. Mr. Taylor Fravel is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
President Ma said that over the past seven-plus months, the government's efforts in improving cross-strait relations have yielded concrete results. At the same time, a foundation of mutual trust has been re-established with the United States and Japan.
President Ma furthermore noted that there are different voices in Taiwan with respect to the development of cross-strait relations. Nonetheless, generally speaking, the majority of the public supports and approves of the government's stance and efforts. The president said, however, that the government will not neglect the voices of the minority and will continue to communicate with persons representing those views. This will enable them to understand that Taiwan's interests will not be sacrificed amid the improvement of relations with Mainland China, he said.
In response to the six-point statement made by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the end of last year, President Ma said the declaration constitutes a concrete response to Taiwan's desire for reconciliation between the two sides. In addition to making a preliminary analysis of the statement, the government will further look into the content of the remarks and the significance of them from a policy perspective.
Professor Goldstein said the Taiwan Studies Workshop at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies continues to pay close attention to the efforts made by Taiwan with regards to cross-strait relations. He said he is pleased to have the opportunity on this trip to meet with President Ma and to understand the administrative direction and philosophies of the president. The guests also expressed their desire to have more opportunities in the future to engage in contact with President Ma and government agencies, thereby further understanding the status of development in Taiwan in a variety of areas.
Professor Goldstein, Professor Christenson, Director Romberg, Professor Johnston and Associate Professor Fravel went to the Presidential Office in the afternoon to meet with President Ma. Also in attendance was National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi.