President Ma Ying-jeou met with International Political Science Association President Dr. Leonardo Morlino at the Presidential Office on the afternoon of October 15, and on behalf of the government and people of the ROC extended a warm welcome to Dr. Morlino on his visit here.
The president commented that Dr. Morlino is a renowned Italian political scientist whose research has centered on the quality and development of democracy. This trip to Taiwan by Dr. Morlino will not only expand the opportunity for interaction between local political scientists and their international counterparts, but also bring attention to Taiwan as a topic for study as an emerging democracy, he said.
President Ma remarked that starting over 20 years ago with the end of martial law, Taiwan has instituted a series of democratic reforms, including allowing the establishment of political parties and adopting constitutional amendments. These moves have turned Taiwan into a full democracy. President Ma stated that two years ago when he won the presidential election, he received a message from then US President George W. Bush praising Taiwan as "a beacon of democracy to Asia and the world." Public opinion polls here, however, show that the public does not have strong confidence in Taiwan's democracy. The president said that while the poll shows Taiwan has become a democratic society, the idea of democracy does not resonate with the public as much as it did during martial law. He acknowledged that the government must closely examine the reasons for this, adding that he hopes political scientists will provide insight and suggestions.
President Ma stressed that the ROC government now sees four roles for itself in the international community – that of a peacemaker, a provider of humanitarian aid, a promoter of cultural ties, and a creator of new technologies and business opportunities. In the past two years, he said, the government has consistently upheld the principle of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force." The government has improved relations with mainland China, and the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have signed 14 agreements. Each of these agreements can be viewed as a "confidence building measure" in that they are helping to gradually build mutual trust, reduce conflict, and pave the way for peaceful relations between the two sides, he said. President Ma expressed his hope that these efforts will not only bring peace to the Taiwan Strait and prosperity to Taiwan, but will also extend the reconciliation in the Taiwan Strait into the international arena, thereby reducing cross-strait confrontation while benefiting people of the two sides.
Dr. Morlino was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ssu-Tsun Shen and Dr. Yung-mau Chao, Chairman of the Chinese Association of Political Science, to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General John C.C. Deng.