President Ma Ying-jeou delivered remarks on the aircraft on the return leg of his overseas journey. The president expressed his appreciation to all members of the delegation accompanying him on the trip, as well as the crew of the chartered China Airlines aircraft for their hard work.
In remarks made over the airplane's public address system, President Ma said that three main missions were associated with this trip. The first was to congratulate Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa on his inauguration. Next was to meet with Dominican Republic President Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna and high-ranking officials from Haiti, and discuss with them how to further aid Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck the nation. And the third was to discuss Taiwan-US relations with members of the American administration and Congress during his transit stops in the United States.
President Ma remarked that this marked his fourth overseas trip since taking office one year and eight months ago. He then commented on what he believed were the most significant aspects of this trip.
The president first mentioned that during his campaign for the presidency, he noted that "flexible diplomacy" should replace "scorched earth diplomacy," with aboveboard diplomacy taking the place of "checkbook diplomacy." The president said that the new way of doing things shows that the ROC can not only effectively solidify its alliances with the 23 nations with which it maintains diplomatic relations, but can also expand Taiwan's participation in the international community and establish a positive image.
Secondly, he said, the ROC's diplomatic work must be closely related to universal values. He noted that this trip to attend the inauguration of the new Honduran president might seem just to be a matter of diplomatic protocol. However, the president pointed out that a coup d'etat previously took place in Honduras and that nation was extremely unstable for over six months. Its economy was particularly hard hit, he said. That Honduras has been able to resume constitutional democracy is something that the ROC must recognize and congratulate them on. While only three foreign heads of state, including himself, attended the inauguration ceremony, the presence of the ROC's head of state highlighted Taiwan adherence to democratic values.
Next, the president said that he believes humanitarianism is a key factor in diplomacy. He said that everyone is well aware of the work that we plan to carry out in Haiti, namely medical assistance and public health, construction of residences, vocational training and employment, and the adoption of orphans. President Ma added that on the final day of the trip, when the delegation was in Los Angeles, he convened the heads of various government ministries, as well as Tseng Yung-chuan (Legislative Yuan Vice President) and C.V. Chen (President of the Red Cross Society of the ROC), to discuss how to provide this assistance. It was decided that prior to the Chinese Lunar New Year, an ad hoc committee would be dispatched to Haiti and that after their return, related assistance plans would be mapped out and implemented.
President Ma said that he also took advantage of the opportunity while transiting in the United States to meet with a congressman and the San Francisco mayor, as well as speak over the phone with 12 senators and members of the House of Representatives. The president said that his discussions with these officials focused on two fronts. The first was to explain to them why the Legislative Yuan amended the Act Governing Food Sanitation. He said he told them that this was a reflection of the public's concerns about American ground beef and offal, and that these worries remained despite scientific explanations. Under these circumstances, a consensus was forged in the Legislative Yuan by both the ruling and opposition lawmakers, and the amendments were the result of this. President Ma said that after explaining this situation, the American officials and lawmakers saw things in a different light. At the same time, he said he guaranteed that as long as American beef on bone meets the standards as set forth in the protocol signed by the ROC (Taiwan) and the US regarding beef imports, we will allow such items to pass through customs without delay. President Ma also urged the US to export more beef on bone to Taiwan to make up for the reductions resulting from the closing of the market to ground beef and offal.
President Ma commented that relations between Taiwan and the United States over the past 20 months can be described as "proceeding along the correct path, enjoying mutual trust, and featuring frequent contacts." He said that in the handling of the US beef issue, both sides are looking at the bigger picture and addressing things very carefully. The president added that we are aware that this problem is not going to be concluded quickly. However, as long as both sides adopt an attitude of looking at things from a broader perspective, this issue should not have an impact on other fronts. He noted that we need to handle this issue carefully and that he hopes it will not impact other aspects of the Taiwan-US relationship.
President Ma also announced that nine hours ago the US administration formally notified Congress of a US$6.4 billion weapons sale to Taiwan. He noted that the vast majority of these arms are defensive in nature and this is a cost needed to defend Taiwan. He said that we hope that having these arms will provide more confidence in our ability to defend Taiwan, adding that this will also be beneficial in the further development of the cross-strait relationship. The more self-confidence Taiwan has, he said, and the better sense of security it has, the more interaction it will be able to have with mainland China.