Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of March 8 met with a delegation of leaders of the United Chinese Clans Association of Thailand and during the meeting praised the efforts and contributions made by overseas compatriots in their adopted lands.

The president remarked that the delegation members are leaders in the overseas Chinese community who, besides being successful in business, enthusiastically involve themselves in overseas Chinese affairs and constitute an important bridge between Taiwan and Thailand. They have long paid close attention to Taiwan affairs and provided time and money when needed, as when parts of southern and eastern Taiwan suffered devastating flooding and landslides after Typhoon Morakot in 2009. The president said that the government will never forget their generosity.

President Ma stated that even though the ROC and Thailand do not maintain diplomatic relations, there are about 3,000 Taiwan companies that maintain operations in Thailand and have invested an estimated US$19.7 billion, behind only the United States and Japan. While Taiwan over the past couple of years felt the impact of the financial tsunami and experienced a recession, the nation's economy last year began a steady recovery. External trade last year, he noted, reached US$526 billion, with both imports and exports setting new highs. The president added that the government is taking many steps to improve Taiwan's economy. The Act for Industrial Innovation, for example, provides incentives for industrial innovation. In addition, the business income tax has been cut to 17% from 25%. These policies have helped to attract a considerable amount of capital back to Taiwan, he explained.

President Ma furthermore stated that with the granting in January of this year by European Union nations of visa-free entry to ROC tourists, the number of countries and areas providing visa-free courtesies to ROC passport holders now comes to 97, which means that 94% of the most frequently visited places by ROC nationals offer them visa-free entry. Requiring visas is the norm, while waiving visas is a courtesy which demonstrates that other nations recognize the quality of the Taiwanese people and the nation's image. President Ma further noted that the number of people visiting Taiwan last year also set a record high.

The delegation was led by Mr. Kitti Ittiphakorn and was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission Vice Minister Hsia Shen-hua to meet President Ma.