President Ma Ying-jeou met with Marek Benda, chairman of the Czech Parliament's Czech Republic-Taiwan Friendship Group on the afternoon of May 19 at the Presidential Office. The president expressed his deep appreciation to Chairman Benda and several other members of parliament accompanying him for making the trip to Taiwan and for their long support for the ROC (Taiwan).
The president said that relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic are sure to benefit from the visit here by Mr. Benda and his colleagues. Taiwan has US$350 million of investments in the Czech Republic, and the operations established there employ over 8,000 people. Trade between the two countries stands at about US$500 million and has room to grow further, the president said.
President Ma remarked that the Czech Republic has experienced rapid development in recent years and is ranked among the world's developed countries with a per capita GNP of over US$20,000. The president said he is confident that there is plenty of opportunity for further growth in trade and investment between the two nations. He added that he will ask the proper agencies here to work for progress in this regard.
The president commented that the European Union has the largest number of investments in Taiwan. In addition, Taiwan is home to excellent European schools that provide outstanding educational opportunities, and the president said that he maintained close interaction with these schools when he served as Taipei City Mayor. He noted that the principal of one of the schools who has served here for many years will soon transfer to Hong Kong. He said that he plans to bestow an honor on the individual next week in recognition of the efforts and contributions made by the principal in providing a top-notch educational environment for students in Taiwan.
President Ma recalled that he visited Prague in August 2000 and saw many historic buildings and cultural places during his stay there. He said he made a special point of touring Charles University in Prague, as that university is a center for Chinese studies in Europe. The president mentioned that he had classmates who studied at that university. President Ma said he also rode the trolley to tour the city and attended a concert. He said he was deeply impressed by the highly cultured lifestyle of Prague residents.
Europe faced flooding after his trip there, the president commented, saying that Prague had also been affected. He said he was concerned that if proper measures were not taken, many historical sites in the city could have been damaged. Fortunately, the authorities handled the situation quite well and the city came through the crisis, he said.
President Ma reiterated his appreciation to Parliamentarian Benda for leading the delegation here, and he expressed his confidence that this trip is sure to strengthen friendship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic. The president noted that the Czech Republic this year holds the rotating presidency of the EU. He said he hopes that the EU in the future will provide visa-free courtesies to people from Taiwan, noting that Japan and England recently extended visa-free status to visitors from Taiwan. If the EU also adopts this measure, the president said he is sure that even more tourists and students from Taiwan would head to the EU for tourism and study, thereby enhancing relations between the two sides.
President Ma expressed his appreciation for the assistance extended by the Czech Republic during Taiwan's efforts to participate in the World Health Organization. This year, he said, Taiwan has finally achieved its wish of participating in the World Health Assembly (WHA). Minister of Health Yeh Ching-chuan is presently in Geneva attending the WHA, he noted. The president thanked friends of Taiwan in the Czech Republic for their long-term support and friendship to Taiwan.
Parliamentarian Benda expressed his gratitude to President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with the delegation, and for his praise of Prague. He added that this trip has enabled him to see first-hand the enormous progress made by Taiwan, and that he is confident that there will be more opportunities for cooperation between the two sides in the future. He said he will fully support efforts in his country to provide visa-free courtesies to Taiwan visitors. He also congratulated Taiwan on finally being able to attend the WHA after its many years of efforts. Mr. Benda added that in the future he will continue to speak on behalf of Taiwan in the Czech Parliament and in the international arena, enabling both sides to make even more contributions to global development.