President Ma Ying-jeou on the evening of January 6 attended a reception marking the New Year jointly held by the Japanese Association in Taiwan (JAT) and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Taipei (JCCI). Besides congratulating the JAT on the 50th anniversary of its founding here and the JCCI on the 40th anniversary of its establishment, the president expressed his hopes for further strengthening of ties and cooperation between Taiwan and Japan in the future.
In remarks to the gathering, the president commented that this year marks the ROC's centenary, and the act of looking ahead to the future at this historic juncture is a very meaningful exercise. Last year, he said, Taiwan's economy staged a rapid rebound, with economic growth for the year expected to have reached 9.98%. Academia Sinica even forecasts growth to have exceeded 10%, the president noted. Regardless, this marks the strongest year of growth in over two decades, he said. Meanwhile, Taiwan's exports last year rose 37% and external trade vaulted to a record high of over US$500 billion. Even more importantly, domestic investment last year grew 32%, which demonstrates that Taiwan's economic momentum is being fueled both by exports and investment, he said.
The president stated that the economy's stellar performance can be attributed to important measures adopted by the government, such as reducing the inheritance tax rate to 10% from 50% and cutting the business income tax rate to 17% from 25%. In addition, Taiwan and mainland China in June of last year inked the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which will abolish tariffs on over 800 items over the coming two years, he explained. President Ma said all of these measures have boosted growth. Meanwhile, Switzerland's International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in its World Competitiveness Yearbook 2010 ranked Taiwan as the eighth most competitive economy, the highest rating Taiwan has received in 16 years.
President Ma commented that Japan is Taiwan's second largest trading partner and also the nation with the largest number of investment projects here. At the same time, Taiwan is Japan's fourth largest trading partner. Consequently, Japan has a big impact on Taiwan's economic development and growth, he said. In particular, Taiwan opened a representative office in Sapporo in December of 2009, and direct charter flights between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Japan's Haneda Airport commenced in late October last year. These developments are conducive to bilateral relations and spur commercial and tourism growth in both nations, he explained.
The president noted that the JCCI in its 2010 White Paper recommended that Taiwan and Japan enhance alliances and cooperation in the fields of environmental protection and energy conservation. Even though Taiwan has been unable to join the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or become a party to the Kyoto Protocol, it has voluntarily set targets to reduce carbon emissions to 2005 levels by the year 2020 and to further cut emissions to the level of 2000 by the year 2025. The JCCI has also expressed concern about the issue of climate change, he remarked, saying he is confident that these are fields in which both countries can cooperate.
President Ma also cited a report by a Japanese think tank stating that since signing of the ECFA, Japanese companies investing in mainland China on their own have had a success rate of 68.4%, while those partnering with a firm from Taiwan have scored a success rate of 79.8%. Japanese enterprises should therefore use Taiwan as a springboard from which to enter the mainland market, said the president.
On the subject of cultural ties, President Ma noted that the two sides on April 30 of last year signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening interaction between Taiwan and Japan. He said Taiwan hopes that the Japanese parliament, the Diet, will soon pass legislation to prevent any third nation from impounding museum items on display in Japan, as this will enable artwork from Taiwan's National Palace Museum to be displayed there. Taiwan also hopes to invite Japanese museums to hold exhibitions in Taiwan. Meanwhile, restoration of the Tainan City residence of Yoichi Hatta (1886-1942), who designed Wushantou Reservoir in southern Taiwan, will be completed on May 8 this year and opened to the public as the Yoichi Hatta Memorial Park. He said he hopes that Japanese who visit Taiwan will make their way to Tainan to pay their respects. The president also expressed his welcome to youth from Japan who come here on working holidays to serve as guides, helping to further bolster bilateral cultural ties.
After completing his remarks, President Ma, Judicial Yuan President Hau-Min Rai, Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang, Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission Minister Wu Ying-yih, and JAT Chairman Akira Suenaga participated in a ceremony to mark the new year. At the same time, JCCI Chairman Takeo Kobayashi led the group in a toast to celebrate the beginning of 2011.