Remarks by H.E. Ma Ying-jeou, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan), at the Spring Festival
A New Emphasis of Flexible Diplomacy
February 5, 2009
Vice President Siew; Premier Liu of the Executive Yuan; Speaker Wang of the Legislative Yuan; President Lai of the Judicial Yuan; President Kuan of the Examination Yuan; President Wang of the Control Yuan; Distinguished members of the Foreign and National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan; Minister Ou of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; former Ministers of Foreign Affairs; Distinguished members of the Diplomatic Corps; Members of the business community; Political party and civil group representatives; Dear friends from the press: good evening!
It is my great pleasure to join the Diplomatic Corps for the Spring Festival hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tonight. Let me take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy New Year of the Ox!
Since my inauguration on May 20th last year, I have come to understand very well that to be the president of a country is one of the toughest jobs in the world. However, though our country has been confronted with many unforeseen difficulties, we have also achieved unprecedented breakthroughs. Thus, I would like to express my deep appreciation to all those fellow colleagues, countrymen and distinguished friends. Through your tireless efforts and contributions Taiwan was able to triumph over its innumerable adversities and challenges last year. In the New Year I hope that we will continue to be united in spirit and heart to overcome the challenges ahead.
Over the past eight months, my administration has on many occasions transformed the impossible into the possible, especially in regards to cross-strait relations, national defense, and foreign relations. For example, last October the United States agreed to an arms-procurement package worth 6.463 billion US dollars, which was closely followed in November by the visit of Mr. Chen Yun-lin, Chairman of ARATS, that resulted in signing four groundbreaking agreements with us. Later that very same month, former Vice President Lien Chan attended the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Peru on my behalf. Furthermore, in December we successfully completed the accession procedures to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) after a delay of six years, thus greatly expanding our country's commercial opportunities. It was also this past January that Taiwan was able to initiate a new engagement scheme with the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO), helping further safeguard the health and wellbeing of our 23 million citizens. The same month, the United States also removed Taiwan from its Special 301 Watch List of countries, demonstrating the extent that Taiwan's trade liberalization has advanced in the past decade. These achievements all occurred in a short time span of a few months, proving that indeed we can safeguard this country's sovereignty and dignity while seeking rapprochement with mainland China. My administration aims to achieve stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait to bolster our economy as well as our relations with other countries. The fruits of our labors are already starting to ripen. The last couple of months have shown that with the right policies, a triple-win scenario with the two sides and the international community is clearly feasible and sustainable.
In recent years, the global economy has been afflicted by price fluctuations of oil and raw materials, the global banking crisis precipitated by the US sub-prime loans and a decrease in real purchasing power. As a result, most countries have experienced sluggish economic growth. Clearly the global economy is being engulfed in an economic tsunami. Facing these challenges head on, we, the Republic of China was the first country in Asia to announce that it would fully guarantee all deposits in banks, including those in foreign currencies. This measure helped re-instill confidence for our people in our financial institutions as well as protect banks from bankruptcy and runs by depositors. At the same time, my government has strengthened Taiwan's economic environment by improving cross-strait relations, expanding deregulation, tax cuts, private investment incentives, infrastructure projects and clean government initiatives. Since my inauguration, more than 52 Taiwanese multinational firms have sought to be listed on TaiEx. Similarly, we also enthusiastically welcome and encourage foreign multinational corporations to set up offices in Taiwan.
On this auspicious occasion, I would like to thank the members of the Diplomatic Corps for your unstinting contributions to the promotion of Taiwan's foreign relations. Correspondingly, I would like to add a new emphasis on "Flexible Diplomacy", which I have been advocating for the past 2 years. With this "Flexible Diplomacy" my administration hopes to expand the goodwill and rapprochement achieved with the mainland to the realm of the international community. This will not only end hostilities between the two sides but also contribute to the stability and security of the region. Over the past 6 months, undoubtedly you have all witnessed the mutual goodwill reciprocated by both sides of the Strait. Correspondingly, the international community has also soundly applauded our efforts.
However, the current domestic and international environment is very different from two years ago. History shows that in international relations, once the configuration for "high politics" is established, matters of "low politics" become the overriding concerns of governments. Although they are termed "low" politics these issues are in fact of central importance. For example, trade, investment, environmental protection, immigration between countries not only affect the livelihood of our respective citizens, but also influence the strength of our foreign relations with each other. Therefore, in many cases the success of "high politics" is undergirded upon the strength of "low politics". During the Great Depression countries around the world rejected the ideals of free trade and instead turned inwards triggering a debilitating cycle of trade protectionism and currency blocs, which later fueled the lead up to the Second World War. Now, 80 years later, the world economy has once again plunged into a crisis. We, as generations fortunate to be endowed with the knowledge of hindsight, must actively guard against being entrapped in the same vicious cycles of trade wars as our forefathers had. I often think of the great British poet John Donne who once wrote: "No man is an island entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent." Thus, bound together as citizens of the global community, the prosperity of our world is the prosperity of a nation, any nation.
As such, our "flexible diplomacy" must take on a new emphasis, which shall guide both Taiwan's foreign relations as well as economy towards a new "viable path" of growth and expansion. We will pioneer new opportunities for our business community while also actively work to reduce trade and investment barriers. Therefore, there will be a new emphasis on "low politics" issues aiming to further integrate Taiwan into the world economy, for the benefit of our nation as well as the global economy. For our diplomats, improving bilateral trade and business relations must be made a part of their daily work. At the same time, my administration will devote more attention to our duties to providing foreign aid to those countries in need. As such, my government looks forward to working with each of you in expanding Taiwan's cordial relations with your country.
As to whether I have any wishes for the Year of the Ox, just like most of you, I am concerned about the economy. Therefore, I wish that Taiwan as well as the rest of the world will soon be celebrating a return to the BULL market.
In closing, I would like to thank Minister Francisco Ou for organizing such a grand feast that features dishes from five continents of the world to welcome the Lunar New Year! This shows that all of us on this planet Earth are one big family. Now, I would like to invite you to join me in a toast to celebrate our countries' everlasting friendships, and to wish everyone here tonight the best of health and every success! Thank you.