President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of February 17 at the Presidential Office with United States Congressional Taiwan Caucus Co-Chair Shelley Berkley. The president, on behalf of the government of the ROC (Taiwan), extended a cordial welcome to Congresswoman Berkley upon her arrival in Taiwan.
President Ma thanked Congresswoman Berkley for her longstanding friendship toward Taiwan, noting that she is a veteran member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus who has made many efforts to promote relations between Taiwan and the United States, and has also spared no effort in helping Taiwan to participate in international organizations. President Ma also commented that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the announcement and implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act. Over the past 30 years, relations between Taiwan and the United States have been governed by the legislation, which has effectively maintained Taiwan's security and has further underpinned Taiwan's prosperity and development. President Ma expressed his appreciation to the United States in this regard.
The president also said that this year the government here hopes Taiwan will be able to take part in the World Health Assembly, and he expressed his hope that Congresswoman Berkley will continue to support Taiwan on this issue. The president also mentioned negotiations with the United States about granting visa-free courtesies to people from Taiwan traveling to the United States. President Ma noted that England recently announced it has agreed to waive visa requirements for tourists from Taiwan. In addition, he pointed out that Japan also implemented a similar measure over two years ago and since then the number of tourists to that nation from Taiwan has increased substantially, with Taiwan tourists now accounting for one-sixth of all tourists to that country. At the same time, the number of Japanese visiting Taiwan has also increased handsomely, with Japanese accounting for one-fourth of all tourists to Taiwan. This data demonstrates the boost to tourism that results from waiving visa requirements for tourists, he said.
Congresswoman Berkley thanked President Ma for meeting with her. She said that the Congressional Taiwan Caucus has 147 members, adding that she is confident this represents a strong force in Congress for support for Taiwan. She said that in her position as Caucus Co-Chair, she will do her utmost in the future to continue to promote a wide range of Taiwan-American affairs. In addition to bringing forward a proposal again this year for a Taiwan Free Trade Act, Congresswoman Berkley said she will do her best to include Taiwan on the list of countries that receive visa-free treatment by the United States. She said both of these measures would yield mutual benefits.