Presidential Spokesman Luo Chih-chiang stated on October 8 that President Ma Ying-jeou would like to express his congratulations to Mr. Liu Xiaobo on being awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
Spokesman Luo remarked that President Ma made the following observations on June 4th this year:
"Given the unprecedented set of historical circumstances in which we now find ourselves, we hope to see the mainland Chinese authorities adopt an unprecedented new approach to human rights. They need to display robust good faith and self-confidence in moving one step at a time to resolve the problems left behind by major human rights incidents of the past. They also need to treat dissidents with greater lenience. This would help foster greater trust among the people of mainland China in their governing authorities and, in the area of human rights, would inevitably go far toward narrowing the gap between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. What is more, it would convince people throughout the world that the rise of mainland China contributes not only to the cause of peace, but is also a positive development from the standpoint of the universal values of freedom, democracy, and human rights."
President Ma believes that mainland China's economic development has brought China newfound esteem in the eyes of the world. Progress and breakthroughs in the area of human rights would be more in keeping with mainland China's goal of achieving a peaceful rise in the world, and would be welcomed by the people of Taiwan and the international community. President Ma believes that the naming of Liu Xiaobo as the winner of the Peace Prize is not just an honor for Liu himself, but carries important historical significance for the development of human rights in mainland China, and is, in fact, deeply meaningful for the worldwide Chinese community.