President Ma Ying-jeou met with the scholars attending the 27th Taiwan-European Conference on the afternoon of December 3 at the Presidential Office. In addition to expressing his appreciation to the European Union (EU) for approving visa-free travel for holders of ROC passports, the president also stated his hopes for a continued strengthening of relations between the two sides.
President Ma remarked that the Taiwan-European Conference has for many years served as an important platform for interaction among scholars from the ROC and European nations. He pointed out that National Chengchi University, which organizes the conference, recently established its European Union Research Centre (EURC), and called upon the EURC and research units from other local colleges and universities to work together for stronger ties between the two sides.
The president commented that he has worked with considerable success since taking office over two years ago to promote a policy of flexible diplomacy while working to improve cross-strait relations, and it is quite noteworthy that the benefits of cross-strait reconciliation have spilled over into other areas. Replacing scorched earth diplomacy with flexible diplomacy, and dollar diplomacy with aboveboard diplomacy, has enabled the two sides of the Taiwan Strait over the past two-plus years to sign 14 agreements covering direct flights and shipping, food safety, the employment of fishing crews, financial supervisory cooperation, judicial assistance, the reduction and elimination of tariffs, and the protection of intellectual property rights. These agreements have helped to put cross-strait economic and trade ties on a more systematic footing. Meanwhile, the ROC has succeeded in maintaining stable ties with its 23 diplomatic allies, taking part in the World Health Assembly after an absence of 38 years, becoming a party to the Agreement on Government Procurement, and achieving a higher level of representation at APEC functions. All of this is the result of promoting flexible diplomacy and expanding participation in the international community, he said.
President Ma furthermore noted that Taiwan is the fourth largest trading partner of the EU in Asia, while the EU area constitutes the largest investor in Taiwan. The EU's recent decision to include holders of ROC passports in its visa-waiver program starting in January 2011 marks an important step forward in relations between the two sides, he said. President Ma noted that when he assumed the presidency, 53 nations or areas throughout the world provided visa-free courtesies to ROC passport holders, but this number will jump to 96 as of the beginning of next year with the addition of 35 EU member states and eight other nations or areas that previously approved visa-free entry for Taiwan nationals, he said. This constitutes a growth of 81% in the number of countries providing visa-free courtesies to ROC passport holders, which will provide increased convenience to travelers, relieve them of the expense of visa fees, and enable Taiwanese people to feel greater respect abroad, he said.
The guests were led by Tamás Magyarics, Director of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, and accompanied to the Presidential Office by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ssu-Tsun Shen and National Chengchi University Vice President Dr. Bih-jaw Lin to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu.