President Ma Ying-jeou met with a delegation of Taiwan Strait policy experts from the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on the afternoon of October 26 at the Presidential Office. The president exchanged opinions with the experts on a wide range of topics related to trends in the Taiwan Strait, cross-strait relations, and Taiwan-US relations.
The president said he has been stressing the importance of relations with the United States since taking office, and has worked through many channels to restore mutual trust at the highest levels, pointing to arms procurements as one example of progress. In October 2008, the Bush administration announced the sale of defensive weapons to Taiwan, and in January of this year President Obama agreed to a second sale of arms to Taiwan. The aggregate value of the two packages is about US$13.2 billion, making it the largest sale of arms to Taiwan in the past decade. President Ma added that he has been treated with great respect during his transit stops in the United States. "Low key and no surprises" is a principle he will continue to maintain in building friendship with the United States.
Addressing cross-strait relations, the president remarked that within one month of taking office, the two sides resumed systematic negotiations after a hiatus of 10 years. This led to the opening of direct cross-strait trade, postal and transportation links, along with opening of Taiwan's doors to tourists from mainland China. Over the past two and a half years, the two sides have signed 14 agreements covering food safety, product testing, mutual judicial assistance, financial supervisory cooperation, reduction and elimination of tariffs, and protection of intellectual property rights. The result of all of this has been the closest relations between the two sides in 60 years, he said, adding that these agreements are bringing Taiwan many benefits. For instance, tension between the two sides has eased, Taiwan's exports to mainland China have increased, and Taiwan has profited from spending by mainland tourists. In addition, the two sides have resolved many issues that had been pending for years, including the hiring of mainland fishermen by Taiwan fishing vessels, law enforcement cooperation (which has sharply reduced the number of people in Taiwan victimized by scam operations), financial supervisory cooperation (which enables both sides to establish bank branches in the other), and protections for intellectual property rights (which will enable Taiwan's cultural and creative industries to pursue opportunities in mainland China with greater confidence). All of these are examples of "peace dividends," he said.
The president next addressed concerns among some in Taiwan that over-reliance on the mainland market is eroding Taiwan's sovereignty. President Ma stressed that the government is extremely careful to see to it that each agreement is signed under the principle of "dignity, equality, and reciprocity," which ensures that Taiwan's sovereignty and dignity remain intact. The president added that even as it improves ties with mainland China, his administration is also developing relations with the United States, Japan, ASEAN nations, Australia, New Zealand, and EU member states. Within less than two months of the signing of the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement in June this year, Singapore announced that it would pursue an economic cooperation agreement with the ROC, and other countries have followed suit. Talks on a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with the United States, for example, are set to resume, and similar agreements are in the works with Japan and other Asian nations. All of this has become possible because improved cross-strait relations mean that countries face significantly less pressure to choose sides. Meanwhile, the development of economic, trade, and cultural relations between Taiwan and mainland China are generating greater interest and confidence here in pursuing ties with mainland China, creating a virtuous circle, he said.
Turning to the state of the economy, President Ma told the guests that Taiwan at the end of last year began to rapidly rebound from the economic crisis of the previous year. Economic growth in the final quarter of last year was around 9%, and growth in the first half of this year reached 13%. Meanwhile, the president noted that unemployment continues to drop, with the jobless rate having fallen by over one percentage point over the past year, while salaries are on the rise. Economic growth this year is expected to reach 8.2% and the unemployment rate is poised to drop below 5%. President Ma stressed that amid this improvement, the government will work to ensure the fair distribution of wealth.
Members of the CSIS delegation included Walter B. Slocombe, Charles Freeman III, Cheng Li, Kerry Dumbaugh, Mark W. Frazier, and Daniel Kliman. The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Thomas Ping-Fu Hou to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu.