President Ma Ying-jeou met with Dr. Günther Winkler, First President of Austria's Institute of Chinese Culture, at the Presidential Office on the afternoon of May 20. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), extended a warm welcome and appreciation to Dr. Winkler on his visit to Taiwan.
The president noted that Dr. Winkler, who is highly esteemed in Austria's academic and political circles, has taught administrative law and is a former president of the University of Vienna. Many of his students have served in important government agencies and include political figures, judges and administrators. The president remarked that the ROC's retired Grand Justice Wu Geng studied under Dr. Winkler.
President Ma commented that he first met Dr. Winkler in 1985 and added that Dr. Winkler has made an outstanding contribution to promoting relations between the ROC (Taiwan) and Austria. The president said that this marks the first visit to Taiwan by Dr. Winkler since the transfer of power in Taiwan among political parties in 2000. The president said he deeply appreciates that Dr. Winkler selected the first anniversary of his inauguration to visit Taiwan again. In the past, he said, Dr. Winkler commonly made one or two trips to Taiwan each year. He has a deep understanding of and close relationships with persons from all political affiliations here, the president said.
President Ma said that Dr. Winkler is 80 years old and has helped to foster relations between the ROC and Austria for more than 30 years, something that the people of Taiwan recall with deep gratitude. The president expressed his hopes that interaction between the two countries will be carried out at even higher levels and in a broader range of areas in the future. President Ma indicated that Taiwan's relationship with the European Union (EU) has improved significantly and that the EU played a key role in supporting Taiwan in its efforts to participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA), a goal that was realized this year. Over the past half year, the EU has passed many resolutions supporting Taiwan's participation in the WHA. At this moment, the president said he hopes that relations between Taiwan and Austria can also be strengthened in a substantive manner.
The president furthermore said that his administration has sought to improve relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait since taking office. These efforts have enabled an atmosphere of peace to emerge in the Taiwan Strait. This type of development has caused many European nations to re-examine their relationships with Taiwan. People have expressed the viewpoint that at a time when Beijing is willing to improve its relations with Taipei, what is Europe waiting for? Friends in Europe no longer have to choose sides. Rather, they can seek to concurrently enhance relations with both Taipei and Beijing. This is an extremely important benefit of the government's initiative over the past year to improve cross-strait relations, the president said.