President Ma Ying-jeou met with Harvard University Professor Dr. Joseph S. Nye, Jr., commonly known as the "Father of Soft Power," at the Presidential Office on the morning of December 8. The president remarked that the government will continue to build up Taiwan's soft power by acting as a peacemaker, a provider of humanitarian aid, a promoter of cultural ties, and a creator of new technologies and business opportunities.
The president noted that Dr. Nye rose to international fame after first introducing the concept of soft power in his 1990 book Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power, and that he further developed the idea in 2004 with Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. These books familiarized diverse audiences with the significance of soft power as opposed to military force, he said. The concept has caught on around the world, providing global leaders and decision makers with different angles of perception, and this has had a deep impact on important policy decisions. President Ma said that Dr. Nye in recent years has since gone on to introduce the concept of smart power, which holds that decision makers at crucial moments do not necessarily have to decide to pursue solely hard or soft power, but rather can pursue the two in tandem. This creative thinking, he explained, has helped many nations make good decisions and achieve their objectives.
President Ma remarked that in working over the past two-plus years to improve relations with mainland China, the government has sensed an increasing emphasis on soft power by mainland China, which shows that both sides of the Taiwan Strait have reached a certain level of consensus in terms of the development of soft power. Consequently, incipient signs of peace have emerged in cross-strait relations, the president noted, while Taiwan has won more operating room for itself in the international arena and the people of Taiwan have gained the confidence and willingness to see continued improvement in cross-strait relations. Enhancing economic and cultural ties to pursue peace and avoid war, which is the strategy adopted by Taiwan and mainland China, is quite similar to Dr. Nye's soft power concept, he said.
The president stated that the idea of soft power has enabled Taiwan to discover new horizons and possibilities. For instance, the European Union recently approved visa-waiver status for ROC passport holders traveling to Schengen nations. This policy will take effect beginning next year and will increase to 96 the number of countries and areas that Taiwan nationals can travel to visa-free. This constitutes a vote of confidence in Taiwan's image and the quality of its people, which he said is perfect evidence of soft power. The president reiterated that the government will continue to build up Taiwan as a peacemaker, a provider of humanitarian aid, a promoter of cultural ties, and a creator of new technologies and business opportunities. This will enable Taiwan to put soft power into practice and help the nation win greater respect from the international community, he commented.
Dr. Nye was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Deputy Foreign Minister Lyushun Shen and Charles H.C. Kao, president of Global Views Monthly and Commonwealth Publishing Group. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu. After the meeting, Professor Nye attended the Presidential Monthly Meeting at the Presidential Office, where he delivered an address entitled "The Future of Power" to national policy advisors and government leaders. He also took questions from the audience.