President Ma Ying-jeou met with United States House of Representatives Member Dan Burton, Republican from Indiana, and Mrs. Burton on the afternoon of April 19. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a cordial welcome to the guests.
The president remarked that the US government clearly views Taiwan as a friend, as evidenced by America's decision to evacuate over 100 family members of its diplomatic personnel stationed in Japan to Taiwan in the wake of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Taiwan provided prompt assistance, helping the evacuation to be completed smoothly, he said, adding that he hopes that the Americans enjoyed their stay and were comfortable while here.
President Ma added that the United States is one of the most important partners of the ROC. The two sides have a close economic and security relationship, said the president, and three years ago upon his inauguration he adopted a "low key" and "no surprises" approach to bilateral relations, helping to restore mutual trust between the two sides. Incipient signs of peace have emerged in the Taiwan Strait thanks to steadily improving relations between Taiwan and mainland China, he stated. Countries in the region welcome this state of affairs, which is also in the interest of the United States. In January of this year when mainland Chinese leader Hu Jintao visited the United States, US President Barack Obama specially recognized efforts by the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in this respect. President Obama also reiterated his support for the Taiwan Relations Act, which President Ma said is deeply appreciated by the people of the ROC.
The president commented that besides the United States, Taiwan has also expanded bilateral ties with other nations via the policy of "flexible diplomacy," which has helped to boost Taiwan's participation in the international community. President Ma remarked that as of the present, 113 nations and areas provide Taiwan nationals with visa-free courtesies or landing visas, which is up from 53 when he took office in May 2008. He said he hopes that other nations, including the United States, will also extend similar treatment to ROC citizens in the near future. President Ma also expressed his desire to see progress on the signing of a bilateral extradition agreement and progress in negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which he said will enable bilateral ties to become even closer.
President Ma noted that Representative Burton, as the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia and a senior member of the House of Representatives, helped to secure passage in the House of Joint Resolution No. 266 supporting Taiwan's participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization. Representative Burton has consistently supported the sale of arms to Taiwan, and the president called on the US to sell Taiwan F-16C/D series fighter jets to replace Taiwan's aging fleet and provide greater security.
Congressman and Mrs. Burton were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ssu-Tsun Shen and Director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan William A. Stanton to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu.