President Ma Ying-jeou met with Dr. Stephen J. Toope, President of the University of British Columbia, on the morning of May 5 at the Presidential Office and extended a warm welcome to Dr. Toope on his visit to Taiwan.
President Ma noted that the University of British Columbia boasts an illustrious history and is one of Canada's leading universities. Taiwan and the University of British Columbia have a deep relationship thanks to the large number of Taiwan immigrants in Vancouver, he said. The president commented that Taiwan and Canada have long maintained friendly relations and have especially close ties in the areas of trade and investment. He added that he personally has especially close ties with Canada, as well. For instance, construction of the Neihu Line of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit System began when he was Taipei City Mayor and the electro-mechanical systems utilized in the line were sourced from Canada. In addition, the president said he has a close relationship with the Terry Fox Foundation that is based in Toronto, having served as director of the organizing committee for the Terry Fox Run here for 12 consecutive years, helping to promote cancer research. This run has also encouraged athletic activity among the population here, he said.
President Ma also expressed his appreciation to Dr. Toope for serving as an expert witness in the Maersk Dubai Incident 13 years ago, helping Taiwan to win the litigation. The president recalled that the incident involving the vessel occurred in 1996 when he was serving as Minister of Justice. The cargo vessel was detained in the Port of Halifax in eastern Canada after an incident at sea. Taiwan hired a Canadian attorney to specially seek out Dr. Toope to serve as an expert witness and support Taiwan's argument in the case. According to Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982, since the incident occurred on the high seas, the jurisdiction of the case rested with the country where the vessel was registered or the home country of the captain of the ship. Other countries, including ports where the vessels make calls, did not have jurisdiction in the matter. Therefore, jurisdiction in the case was with the ROC (Taiwan), he said.
Dr. Toope expressed his appreciation to President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with him and also thanked the president for recognizing the role he played in helping to resolve the Maersk Dubai Incident. Dr. Toope said that the University of British Columbia and Taiwan have ties that date back many years and expressed his hopes that in the future the two sides will engage in even greater cooperation in innovation-oriented research and development of green technologies.