President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of May 26 departed on a trip that will take him to Central America where he will visit the ROC allies of Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador. While in El Salvador, he will attend the inauguration of President-elect Mauricio Funes. The president made a few brief remarks prior to his departure.
President Ma commented that this is his second trip overseas since assuming office. His first trip was in August of last year when he traveled to Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. On that trip he also made a brief stop in Panama. The president said he is traveling to Central America on this trip as he has been invited to attend the inauguration of El Salvador President-elect Funes, and he will take advantage of the opportunity to visit Belize and Guatemala. He said he will have a stopover on the US west coast on his way to Central America and on his way back to Taiwan.
The president said that he is departing on this trip one year and six days after his own inauguration. Looking back at the past year, he said, work that the administration has carried out in many areas has yielded concrete results, especially with regards to foreign relations, cross-strait ties, and returning to the international community. Most importantly, the president said, we have extremely solid relationships with our 23 diplomatic allies. This proves that "flexible diplomacy" is a workable approach to foreign relations. Therefore, the government will continue to promote this method and hopes that all of Taiwan's people will support the government in this effort, he said.
Just as on his previous trip, the president said that he will transit in the United States. The stopovers will be of a purely transit nature and he will not engage in any activities or arrange any agenda beyond a simple completion of the transit, he said. The president said that we have reached a clear consensus with the United States on the issue, and it is because of this that mutual trust exists at the highest levels.
President Ma said that this trip will focus on the themes of foreign assistance and cultural interaction. In addition to inviting ranking officials from related government ministries and agencies to accompany him on this trip, three members of the Legislative Yuan, and 10 mayors of cities and townships will be joining the delegation. Also, officials from the charitable organization World Vision have been invited on the trip, along with several outstanding professors and students from the academic and educational communities that are with outstanding accomplishments in the fields of international politics and foreign languages. The president said he hopes that participating in this journey will provide them with an opportunity to expand their international perspective. Meanwhile, the government has invited the Ju Percussion Group to join as well, hoping that performances at each stop will give audiences a feel for Taiwan's cultural achievements, he said.
President Ma said he would like to especially thank the many foreign ambassadors who came to see him off, as well as the ROC government officials who were on hand. The president said that just as the last time, he politely declined the offers of the presidents of the five branches of the ROC government to see him off, adding that he hoped they would remain in their offices where they could continue with their work. He said he hopes that this will also be the case upon his return. President Ma reiterated his appreciation to everyone for their good wishes on this journey and said that just like last time he hopes to further solidify the alliances with the ROC's allies and create more visibility for Taiwan in the international community.