The president noted that this marks Parliamentarian Van Baalen's eighth visit to Taiwan, demonstrating his friendship toward Taiwan. In the past, he said, Mr. Van Baalen expressed considerable support for Taiwan when he served as chairman of the committees for foreign affairs and defense in the second chamber of the Netherlands' Parliament. In particular, he opposed the lifting of a ban on arms exports by Europe to mainland China. To this day, the European Parliament still forbids the exports of arms to mainland China, which has been extremely beneficial in fostering security in the Taiwan Strait, the president said.
President Ma commented that Taiwan and the Netherlands have long maintained close economic and trade ties. Annual trade between the two countries stands at US$6.9 billion, which makes the Netherlands Taiwan's second largest trading partner in Europe, behind only Germany. Meanwhile, the Netherlands is the largest European investor in Taiwan, while Taiwan is the second largest investor in the Netherlands, he pointed out. The president furthermore said prior to 2005, the European Union did not support observer status for the ROC (Taiwan) in the World Health Organization. In May of this year, however, the nation successfully attended the World Health Assembly. President Ma expressed his appreciation to the government of the Netherlands for its support in Taiwan's efforts to participate in international organizations.
The president said that Mr. Van Baalen is a member of the Netherlands' People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, and he is soon to become a member of the European Parliament. The president said that he hopes that with the assistance of Mr. Van Baalen, relations between Taiwan and the Netherlands will further strengthen in the future. President Ma also expressed his hope that Mr. Van Baalen will continue to provide his valuable opinions on the values of freedom and democracy, as well as the establishment and promotion of democratic systems and institutions.
President Ma told Mr. Van Baalen that in May of this year Taiwan formally signed two important human rights covenants of the United Nations. Taiwan has made these covenants part of domestic law, which marks an extremely important milestone in the development of human rights here, he said. The president added that he hopes that with the support of Mr. Van Baalen, Taiwan and the Netherlands will enjoy even closer relations.
Mr. Van Baalen expressed his appreciation to President Ma for meeting with him. He also remarked that President Ma has undertaken important work in many areas since his inauguration. Taiwan's progress has made a deep impression on him, he said. In particular, the improvement in cross-strait relations will not only have a positive impact on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but will also enhance security and peace in the Asia-Pacific, he said. Mr. Van Baalen said he will continue to support Taiwan in the future and strive to make an even greater contribution to bolstering relations between Taiwan and the Netherlands.