President Ma Ying-jeou met with United States Congressional Taiwan Caucus Co-Chair Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart on the morning of April 7 at the Presidential Office, and welcomed them to Taiwan on behalf of the government of the ROC (Taiwan).
President Ma first expressed his appreciation to the two Congressmen for their efforts over the years in promoting the development of relations between Taiwan and the United States and for helping Taiwan to achieve meaningful participation in international organizations. He said that mutual trust has been restored between Taiwan and the United States over the past 11 months. In particular, he noted with appreciation the fact that former President George W. Bush in October of last year notified the Congress of the administration's approval of an arms procurement package for Taiwan. President Ma said this is extremely important for the security of Taiwan and also fulfills the obligation of the United States to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act.
President Ma also noted that April 10 marks the 30th anniversary of the implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act. The US government has faithfully adhered to the articles and clauses of the legislation, and has maintained economic, cultural and other non-official relations with Taiwan. In addition, bilateral relations, including a wide variety of interaction and people-to-people contacts, continue to grow, making the United States Taiwan's most important friend and ally, he said.
The president furthermore said that since taking office, he and his administration have worked to improve relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, helping to foster peace between Taiwan and mainland China. This initiative is extremely important in the context of the Taiwan Relations Act and America's dutiful implementation of the law, he said. President Ma stressed that the relationship between Taiwan and the United States in the future will not weaken, but rather will only become stronger on all fronts, security not least among them.
Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart expressed his appreciation to President Ma for taking time out of his schedule to meet with them. He also reiterated the friendship between Taiwan and the United States on behalf of the 128 members of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus. He said that last week they held an activity to mark the anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act and to express continued support for it, saying that the law serves as the foundation of bilateral relations. Ties between the two are extremely important for the United States, he said, noting that Taiwan is not only a springboard for regional peace and security, but also is important to the security of the United States.