President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of March 14 with Philippine presidential emissary Manuel "Mar" A. Roxas II. The president said he was pleased with the subsequent mending of a recent dispute triggered when the Philippines inappropriately deported Taiwanese fraud suspects to mainland China. The president expressed his hopes that a mutual judicial assistance arrangement will be established as soon as possible and that the two sides will examine the feasibility of signing an economic partnership agreement.
The president remarked that Mr. Roxas is a heavyweight in Philippine politics who was cited at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as "one of the Global Leaders of Tomorrow who are expected to shape the future." President Ma stated that Mr. Roxas represented President Benigno Aquino III for the first time last month (February) in expressing the Philippine government's good-faith intention to address the dispute over the deportation of Taiwan suspects to mainland China. Mr. Roxas well understood and faithfully conveyed the standpoints of many people in Taiwan regarding this incident, and reached an agreement with the ROC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs pledging to adopt concrete measures to mend the harm done to the relationship between the two countries, he said.
President Ma stated that the Philippine government paid close attention to the agreement that Mr. Roxas reached with ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang, and now the ROC and Philippine governments have issued a joint press release pledging to further develop bilateral relations. The president remarked that the Philippines has faithfully implemented the consensus reached between the two sides previously, continues to investigate the incident, and has demoted or dismissed the officials involved for dereliction of duty. These steps demonstrate the sincerity of the Philippines in addressing the situation, he said. In order to prevent the recurrence of a similar incident, the president expressed his hope that the ROC and the Philippines will act as soon as possible to negotiate and sign a mutual judicial assistance agreement. He also said he hopes that both sides will examine the feasibility of an economic partnership agreement.
The president commented that this case is largely about jurisdiction over criminal cases and the protection of human rights of the accused, and not at all about national sovereignty. Several officials in the Philippines did not act in accordance with international law, international practice, or the laws of the Philippines in the process of handling this issue, he said, which harmed the dignity of Taiwan and the interests of its people. In the wake of this incident, however, the Philippine Congress and the public there have advocated punishing the officials responsible for dereliction of duty. At the same time, agencies in the Philippine government have taken rapid and effective action to implement the consensus reached between the two sides, highlighting fairness and justice, and thereby reducing the impact of this incident to a minimum. President Ma stated that he is pleased by the efforts made by the Philippine government in displaying sincerity and regret.
The Philippines, the president noted, is an important neighbor of Taiwan. The two countries maintain considerable cooperation in economic matters, culture, education, investment, labor affairs, and tourism. In order to protect the interests of the people of both sides and to promote bilateral relations, the president said he hopes to further strengthen contact between Taiwan's representative office and administrative agencies in the Philippines, especially with the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. Only in this way can we achieve stronger bilateral cooperation and avoid the recurrence of similar incidents, he commented.
President Ma reiterated his admiration for Mr. Roxas for his sincerity and good faith in handling this issue, thereby helping to resolve a potential crisis. He said he hopes that Mr. Roxas will continue to help coordinate matters between the two sides and promote bilateral relations. Lastly, the president asked Mr. Roxas to forward the good intentions of the people of Taiwan to President Aquino and expressed his hope that relations between the two countries will continue to move forward.
Mr. Roxas was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Deputy Foreign Minister Lyushun Shen to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen.