President Ma Ying-jeou departed Taiwan on the evening of January 25 on a trip to Honduras, an ally of the ROC in Central America, to attend the inauguration of President-elect Porfirio Lobo Sosa. He spoke on the plane after it took flight, explaining the reason for and significance of this journey.
The president said that in late June of last year, he had originally planned on making a state visit to Honduras after completing a visit to Panama where he attended the inauguration ceremonies for Panama President Ricardo Alberto Martinelli. A coup d'etat took place in Honduras shortly before he left for Central America, however, and therefore he was unable to make the visit to Honduras as planned, he said.
President Ma stated that the provisional government in Honduras faced many difficulties in the period from June, when the coup took place, until the end of November, when a presidential election was held. The ROC ambassador to Honduras, however, never left his post. The Honduran people in late November elected Porfirio Lobo Sosa to the presidency, returning the nation to democracy. While at present only a handful of nations recognize the presidential election, President Ma said he is confident that after President-elect Lobo is sworn in, more countries will express their recognition.
With regards to the earthquake of January 12 that devastated Haiti, President Ma said that upon hearing of the disaster he immediately gave thought as to what the ROC could do to assist its ally. This is the basis of the decision to stop in the Dominican Republic after he completes his trip to Honduras. Besides meeting with Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez to discuss how best to assist Haiti, he said he will also pay a visit to the ROC's ambassador and minister to Haiti, both of whom were injured in the earthquake. The president said that if he has the opportunity, he would like to speak with members of the Haitian government on rescue-related matters.
President Ma said that the rescue portion of the post-earthquake assistance effort is coming to an end, and the next stage will focus on transitional settlement and reconstruction. President Ma remarked that he specially invited Dr. C. V. Chen, President of the Red Cross Society of the ROC, to join him on this trip and work with him on considering how to best assist the people of Haiti to regain normalcy in their lives. The president commented that the reconstruction effort in Haiti could take up to 5-10 years. As a friend to and ally of Haiti, as well as being a member of the global village, the ROC is duty-bound to come to Haiti's aid. President Ma noted that rescue and relief personnel from Taiwan were quick to arrive in Haiti after the disaster, and the assistance provided has been quite tangible. The president said that he is quite pleased that the work carried out by the ROC has won attention from the international media.
President Ma stressed that the ROC should never again engage in checkbook diplomacy. Rather, it should focus on diplomacy of integrity, utilizing soft power such as economic ties, trade, culture, humanitarianism, and human rights to establish a higher profile in the international community. He said that the assistance to Haiti is being made from the standpoint of humanitarianism. The ROC should provide assistance regardless of whether Haiti is a diplomatic ally, he said, noting the example of the ROC's aid offered after the tsunami that impacted South and Southeast Asia. President Ma said that Taiwan also engaged in reconstruction work after the flooding and landslides that ravaged southern Taiwan in early August last year. The nation has experiences in this regard that it can share with Haiti, he said.
After a flight of about 11 hours, the chartered aircraft carrying President Ma arrived at San Francisco International Airport in California at 7:30 p.m. on January 25 California time (11:30 a.m. January 26 Taipei time). Taiwan's Representative to the United States Jason C. Yuan and American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt boarded the plane to welcome the president on his transit stop in the United States. The president and members of his delegation were then escorted by Chairman Burghardt to a hotel where they will relax before continuing their trip.