President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of April 8 with delegations from the Tokyo Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Osaka Overseas Chinese General Association. The president expressed his appreciation for the contributions that the two groups have made in promoting relations between Taiwan and Japan. During the meeting the president also expressed his concern for the situation in Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
The president remarked that the visiting groups have both been longstanding supporters of the ROC and have helped promote overseas compatriot affairs and bilateral exchanges between Taiwan and Japan. The two organizations have established Chinese schools and have opened the learning institutions to Japanese students, making an enormous contribution to passing along and disseminating Chinese culture.
President Ma mentioned that Taiwan's representative offices in Japan actively aided in the evacuation of overseas compatriots in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan. The people of Taiwan, he said, exhibited their compassion after the disasters struck, with private groups initiating fundraising activities that to date have raised in excess of NT$4 billion. In addition, Taiwan has donated about 500 tons of material goods to those in need. This eager desire to help demonstrates the deep friendship and close relations between people of the two nations, he commented.
The president stated that while the ROC and Japan severed diplomatic relations in 1972, the two sides have continuously used various avenues over the past nearly four decades to improve bilateral ties. The president specially mentioned that after taking office in May 2008 he designated the relationship with Japan as a special partnership, and that a number of achievements have been made over the past few years. In particular, the two sides have signed a youth working holiday agreement and a memorandum of understanding on strengthening interaction. In addition, Taiwan and Japan have concluded fishing negotiations, and Taiwan has opened a representative office in Sapporo. Meanwhile, there are now direct flights between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport, and Japan has amended regulations to allow ROC nationals residing in Japan to fill in "Taiwan" as their nationality on various forms. Most recently, Japan's parliament, the Diet, passed legislation preventing third parties from taking legal action to impound important foreign cultural artifacts, which he said will help to pave the way for Taiwan's National Palace Museum to hold an exhibition of its treasures in Japan.
This year marks the ROC's centenary and President Ma specially mentioned that Japan played an important role in the efforts of the nation's founding father, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, to stage revolution and establish a new nation. The government puts enormous emphasis on the relationship between Taiwan and Japan, he remarked, adding that he hopes that interaction and cooperation between the two sides will continue to expand. The ROC hopes that, as cross-strait ties improve, it can simultaneously bolster its relations with the international community and contribute to peace and stability in East Asia, he said.
The visitors were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission Deputy Minister Jen Hong. Also attending the meeting was Deputy Secretary-General to the President Liu Bao-guey.