Mr. Philippe Pellegrin, Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei; Mr. Guy Ledoux, Head of the European Economic and Trade Office; Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and Representatives; Ladies and gentlemen: Good evening!
I would like to thank Chairman Pellegrin for inviting me to attend tonight's dinner in celebration of Europe Day. As you are no doubt aware, Europe Day commemorates the Schuman Plan of 1950, which began the process of European integration. Over half a century later, Europe's political and economic influence has grown tremendously, which has had a marked effect on world peace and prosperity. We cannot help but admire the great achievements of European integration, as well as the foresight of Robert Schuman, the French statesman now known as one of the founding fathers of Europe.
European Integration: Advancing Global Peace and Prosperity
This year marks the anniversary of several important events in Europe. First, it is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down following a peaceful revolution by the people of East Germany. And the two Germanys were reunified the following year. This momentous event allowed European integration to extend eastwards, which brought democracy and freedom to countries in both Central and Eastern Europe. This paved the way for the much improved global security and stability of the Post-Cold War era.
Second, this year marked the 10th anniversary of the Euro. Since January 1, 1999, 16 member states of the EU have come to adopt the Euro currency. This has made travel in the resulting Eurozone more convenient, and brought greater stability to international finance and currency markets. The commitment that several great European nations showed by being willing to replace currencies that were long a glorious symbol of their national identity is extraordinary.
This year is important also as it marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The EU's growth has enhanced NATO's ability to maintain peace and security, both in Europe and around the world. Moreover, France's return to NATO this year solidifies the EU's defensive capabilities and lends extra weight to NATO's peacekeeping work. In November 1992, I had the honor of giving a speech at the North Atlantic Council in Brussels, which was published in the 1993 March-April issue of the NATO Review.
The development in the EU has brought about great contributions to resolving international disputes, raising the level of global cooperation, and fostering world peace. It is our belief that an integrated, united and strong EU is in the best interests of the international community, and is also of great benefit to the development of EU-Taiwan relations.
I have long been interested in Europe's many great developments, including the Reformation, the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and the pioneering spirit of the great explorers. These developments had taken technology and civilization to new heights, before two world wars took their tolls. While these terrible wars brought much suffering to the continent, they did however instill in Europe a certain wisdom and tolerance. This has enabled European countries to transcend the contention of sovereignty issue, and go beyond the spilled blood and hatred of the past and the rivalry of the Cold War. As a result, Europeans have come to enjoy an enviably peaceful and prosperous era. The European Convention on Human Rights and the establishment of the European Court of Justice are just two examples of many historical achievements of this era. I would like to convey my highest esteem on this occasion to your admirable countries.
ECCT's Contributions: Promoting Europe-Taiwan Economic Relations and Taiwan's Economic Development
The ECCT was established in Taiwan 21 years ago. During this time, it has been very successful in promoting Europe-Taiwan trade, and has contributed significantly to Taiwan's economic development. We attach great importance and give careful consideration to the position paper that the ECCT publishes every year. Indeed, my administration has adopted a series of measures that are very much in line with suggestions contained within, such as: accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA); relaxing the restriction on investment from mainland China; tax-rate reduction; lifting restrictions on the mainland Chinese tourists; energy saving; and reduction on greenhouse gas emissions. Please rest assured that my government will make every effort to continue improving the overall business environment in Taiwan.
Taiwan also agrees with the ECCT suggestion of exploring Trade Enhancement Measures (TEM) with the EU. The relevant government agencies are currently drafting suitably position papers, to be printed in several European languages. We will welcome the ECCT's support in the endeavor, and wish to start consultation on TEM soon.
Taiwan-EU Relations: Going Beyond Trade
The amount of Taiwan-EU trade reached US$47.7 billion dollars last year, an increase of 1.6% over the year before. However, it has to be said that EU statistics paint a rather disappointing picture. The substantial appreciation of the Euro last year saw our bilateral trade shrink from 39.3 billion euros in 2007 to 35 billion last year. Over the same period, Taiwan dropped from 13th to 21st on the list of the EU's trade partners. Perhaps most troubling of all, statistics from our Ministry of Economic Affairs show that European FDI in Taiwan for the same period decreased by 75%, from US$7.9 billion to US$1.9 billion. While much of this may well be due to the global economic crisis, it is nevertheless a wake-up call. I remain confident, however, that Taiwan's sound economic infrastructure and investment environment, as well as its hard-working people, will see Taiwan-EU trade and investment relations rebound in the near future. To help achieve this at a time when the government and industries are facing challenges of global proportions, we hope that we can work together and chart out strategies and action plans that can effectively strengthen our bilateral trade and investment relations.
If trade and investment lie at the heart of Taiwan-EU relations, then democracy and human rights are their backbone. In fact, the EU once mentioned that "It is democratic rights, civil liberties and the rule of law that bind us as partners and friends." I couldn't agree more. Indeed, my administration greatly values human rights and has spared no effort in bringing Taiwan's legal system up to international standards. On March 31 this year, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights passed their third and final reading in the Legislative Yuan. The adoption of these two covenants demonstrates the determination of the Republic of China to protect human rights.
With respect to the EU's concern over the persistence of capital punishment in Taiwan, it is true that there is not yet a consensus on doing away with the death penalty. Our approach before such a consensus is reached is to gradually reduce the number of death sentences handed down. We hope this and other measures will allow us to further reduce capital punishment here. Examples of these other measures include: replacing mandatory death penalties with a discretionary death penalty; not allowing death or life sentences to be given to persons under the age of 18 or over 80; and not imposing death sentences on pregnant women. During my tenure as Minister of Justice earlier, I halted the executions of the so-called XiZhi Trio, the first time ever in recent history, and this case remains under appeal in the Supreme Court up-to-date. In fact, no death penalties have been carried out here in Taiwan since December 26, 2005. I trust the above provide concrete examples of the actions we have taken to protect human rights. Nonetheless, I have nothing but admiration for Europe's leadership in promoting universal values such as human rights, and we will continue to learn from Europe's experiences in this area. Indeed, democracy and human rights are core EU values, and we believe that a Taiwan that respects democracy and human rights is crucial to a healthy EU-Taiwan relations.
New Era of Cross-Strait Relations
I would like next to talk about cross-strait relations, which are fundamental to peace and stability not only across the Taiwan Strait, but also regionally and even globally. This is precisely the reason why my administration has put developing constructive cross-strait relations at the core of its policies. Our goal is to shelve disputes, build mutual trust, and abide by the "three Noes" of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force". By improving cross-strait relations, we can develop mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait for the benefit of people on both sides. Through the three "Chiang-Chen talks", Taiwan and mainland China have so far reached nine agreements on tourism, charter flights, air and sea transportation, postal services, food safety, regular flights, financial cooperation, joint crime-fighting and mutual judicial assistance. These agreements will help facilitate the normalization of cross-strait trade and investment relations. Furthermore, it will make Taiwan a regional springboard to the mainland China market for European businesses, and increase their competitiveness in Asia.
Furthermore, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are set to actively pursue the discussion of a cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). A cross-strait ECFA will help regulate the normalization of trade and investment relations across the Strait, and will encourage foreign companies to do business in Taiwan. Taiwan can thus avoid being marginalized, upgrade its industrial competitiveness, bring its economy up to international standards, and enhance its global standing. This framework agreement will conform to the WTO spirit and will clearly define the scope of cross-strait economic cooperation and subsequently opens the way for negotiations.
Let me stress that through this exercise we will not undermine Taiwan's sovereignty. The rights and interests of the Taiwan people come first and foremost. The simple truth is that Taiwan wants to build solid economic relations with all countries, including mainland China. As such, ECFA will not have a negative impact on Taiwan's other trade partners. Rather, it will bring considerable benefits. Indeed, both ECFA and TEM will raise the global standing and competitiveness of businesses for all three sides.
It is our hope that the new administration's moderate approach to cross-strait relations could be extended to Taiwan's relations, official or otherwise, with all countries. We are doing away with vicious competition in the international arena. Instead, we are taking the initiative in starting a virtuous cycle of cross-strait interaction in the world. This is the essence of "diplomatic truce" and "flexible diplomacy". We will continue to strengthen bonds with our diplomatic allies, while broadening our substantive ties with those with which we don't have diplomatic relations. In addition, we will strive to participate in the activities of specialized international fora, to plug Taiwan in on global issues, and to sign economic and trade agreements with our major trade partners.
Our "flexible diplomacy" has achieved significant results. I would like to take recent developments with the United States and Japan as examples. In October last year, the US agreed to sell arms worth US$6.4 billion dollars to Taiwan. Then, in January this year, the US removed Taiwan from the Special 301 Watch List. In fact, I think it is fair to say that US-Taiwan relations have been completely restored.
With respect to Japan, driver's licenses have been mutually recognized since October last year. We also reached an agreement this February on opening up flights between Taipei's SongShan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport, as well as on setting up an emergency notification mechanism for handling fishery disputes. Then, this April, Taiwan and Japan signed an exchange of notes on a Youth Working Holidays Agreement, which will come into effect in June. Furthermore, we have already concluded an exchange notes on the establishment of a representative office in Sapporo, in Japan's Hokkaido Prefecture, and we expect work on this office to commence soon.
In terms of our participation in international organizations, former Vice President Lien Chan attended the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on my behalf last November. The following month, Taiwan acceded to the GPA. Then, this January, the WHO agreed to include Taiwan in the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR). Most gratifying of all, however, is the fact that Taiwan is, for the first time, going to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA) this year as an observer under the name of Chinese Taipei. Taiwan began pushing for participation in the WHA in 1997, and our efforts have finally paid off.
These positive results indicate that the development of cross-strait relations will expand, not restrict, Taiwan's involvement in the international community. And as long as our involvement stands up to the principles of "putting Taiwan first for the benefit of the people" and of "equality, dignity and reciprocity", we will continue to strive to participate in all relevant international events and to make practical contributions to the international community.
Future Prospect of the EU-Taiwan Partnership
The EU is an invaluable partner to Taiwan that, over the past year, has issued multiple statements supportive of cross-strait relations and of Taiwan's participation in international organizations. This February, the European Parliament also passed a resolution welcoming cross-strait interactions and dialogue. And, as of March 3, the British government has included Taiwan in its visa-waiver scheme. Furthermore, the EU issued another Declaration welcoming and fully supporting Taiwan's participation in the 62nd session of the WHA as an observer on the 8th of May. In addition, the European Commission is due to open an EU Center in Taiwan on the 22nd of this month. I would like to convey our deepest appreciation for the EU's support. Taiwan highly values its relations with the EU and we are committed to putting more resources into developing our bilateral relations. This includes fostering high-level interactions, enhancing international cooperation and advancing inter-parliamentary diplomacy.
We also hope to extend the scope of the EU-Taiwan consultations to cover our cooperation in such areas as finance, environmental protection, energy, information, foreign aid, the judiciary, labor, health care, money-laundering prevention, climate change and sustainable development. We again urge the EU to provide visa-free treatment to tourists from Taiwan, as this will encourage our citizens to travel to, and do business in, Europe, and will certainly broaden our bilateral exchanges. We also hope to increase understanding and interactions between our younger generations, through higher education, short-term studies, working holidays and so forth.
It is truly a pleasure to be here with everyone tonight to help celebrate Europe Day. The spirit of Europe Day is one where the world works together in pursuit of mutual growth. At a time when all countries are facing severe economic and financial challenges, Taiwan wishes to work even more closely with Europe in an effort to improve the welfare of both our peoples and to bring peace to the world.
Again, I thank Chairman Pellegrin for inviting me to such a meaningful evening. I would like to conclude my remarks now by wishing everyone great success, and may Taiwan-EU relations continue to grow ever closer. Thank you!