President Ma Ying-jeou met with Governor Rick Perry of the US State of Texas at the Presidential Office on the morning of June 21. The president extended a cordial welcome to Governor Perry on behalf of the government and people of the ROC.
The president noted that this marks the first visit to Taiwan by Governor Perry since he was inaugurated as governor in December 2000, making this trip especially meaningful. In 1988, the president said, Texas and Taiwan inked a sister state relationship. Over the past year or two, the two sides have engaged in interaction in a variety of fields, such as technology, culture, education and agriculture. Meanwhile, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell and Texas State Representative Elliott Naishtat visited Taiwan in April. In addition, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and Mrs. Leppert, and Garland Mayor Ronald Jones and Mrs. Jones made trips to Taiwan in April and September of last year, respectively. This demonstrates that relations between the two sides are extremely close, he said.
With regard to cooperation between the two sides, President Ma said that Taiwan is the 12th largest export market for Texas. Many Taiwan companies have made investments in Texas, including Formosa Plastics and Hon Hai Precision, with aggregate investment exceeding US$5 billion. Texas is one of the most concentrated areas for investment from Taiwan in the United States, the president said. In the area of education, Taiwan and Texas have signed an educational cooperation memorandum. The president furthermore pointed out that the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan on January 25 of this year signed an academic cooperation agreement with the University of Texas system.
President Ma said that Texas is home to advanced technology industries, such as medicine, renewable energy, nano-technology, and aerospace, many of which are world leaders. The state is also the largest exporter in the United States. The GDP of Texas is the second highest in of the United States, behind only California, and the Texas economy has thrived under the leadership of Governor Perry, President Ma said.
The president specially thanked the Texas House of Representatives for passing a resolution in 2004 supporting Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, the House in 2005 and 2007 passed resolutions urging the US government to negotiate and sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan. Last year, the House passed a resolution reaffirming its sister state relationship with Taiwan. All of these gestures help Taiwan to sense the close nature of bilateral interaction and friendship, he said.
President Ma remarked that Taiwan is currently in contact with the United States on the signing of an extradition agreement between the two countries and on the inclusion of Taiwan in the US visa-waiver program. He said that he also hopes that in the future, Taiwan and the US will sign trade and investment-related agreements to promote bilateral relations in these areas.
Governor Perry was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Eric H. Madison, Acting Director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan, and Deputy Foreign Minister Lyushun Shen to meet President Ma. Also sitting in on the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu.