President Ma Ying-jeou met with a delegation from the US Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC) at the Presidential Office on the morning of June 8 and extended a warm welcome to the guests on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan).
The president remarked that the ASDC is an extremely important organization within the Democratic Party. Last year, he said, the president of the ASDC led a delegation here to attend the presidential inauguration ceremonies and offer congratulations. The president said he deeply appreciated the gesture.
President Ma commented that the Democratic Party emerged victorious in the US Presidential and Congressional elections last year, thereby controlling the executive and legislative branches of the government. The ASDC is comprised of the chairperson and deputy chairperson of each state branch of the Democratic Party. In addition, the president of the ASDC is the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. This points to the importance of the ASDC in the ruling party, he said.
President Ma furthermore said that last year when the Democratic Party held its convention, it specially included language in its party platform expressing its support for the Taiwan Relations Act and that it cherishes the friendship it maintains with Taiwan. This wording was quite positive with regards to bilateral relations, he said. President Ma also expressed his hopes that the delegation will take advantage of the opportunity while in Taiwan to interact with both the ruling and opposition parties, thereby enhancing mutual understanding.
The ASDC delegation was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Li-Yan Hsia to the Presidential Office in the morning to meet with President Ma. Also sitting in on the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Ho Szu-yin.