President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of January 5 met with a delegation led by Professor Steven M. Goldstein, director of the Taiwan Studies Workshop at Harvard University's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. The president exchanged opinions with Dr. Goldstein and the others in the Fairbank Center delegation on the development of cross-strait relations and the trilateral relationship between Taiwan, the United States, and mainland China.
The president remarked that he has actively sought to improve the international climate for the ROC in the two years and seven months since he took office in 2008. Six rounds of institutional negotiations have taken place between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait on the basis of the 1992 Consensus regarding "one China, respective interpretations," and the principles of parity, dignity, and reciprocity. The two sides have signed 15 agreements, including the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement. Elsewhere, the ROC and Singapore plan to hold consultations this year on an economic cooperation agreement, and talks between the United States and Taiwan on their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement will also take place. President Ma noted that the ROC's alliances with its 23 diplomatic allies are strong and that our allies all resolutely support Taiwan's participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and other international organizations and activities.
With regard to relations with the United States, the ROC has embraced the principle of "low key and no surprises," which President Ma said has helped to restore mutual trust at the highest levels. Over the past two years, the United States has approved the sale of two packages of arms to Taiwan valued at a total of over US$13 billion. The president expressed his hopes that the United States will agree to sell Taiwan F16 C/D series fighter jets. The ROC also hopes for progress toward the signing of a bilateral extradition agreement, as well as the inclusion of Taiwan in the US visa-waiver program, he remarked.
President Ma reiterated that the European Union's decision to include Taiwan in its visa-waiver program, set to take effect on January 11 of this year, will bring to 96 the number of countries and areas that allow ROC nationals entry without visas. The president commented that relations between the United States and Taiwan are quite close and that the US visa refusal rate for Taiwan citizens has dropped to 2.2%. Meanwhile, starting in July the ROC will implement a policy in which passport applications must be filed in person, which he said will help to reduce passport forgery. The president stated that he hopes these measures will pave the way for a breakthrough on the visa waiver issue, which will promote stronger bilateral ties.
The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Cross-Strait Interflow Prospect Foundation Chairman Louis W.H. Tzen to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen.