President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of May 9 with visiting delegations from the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) of New York, the CCBA of San Francisco, and the CCBA of Los Angeles. The president expressed a cordial welcome to the delegations on their visit to Taiwan.
Noting that the nation's founding father Dr. Sun Yat-sen once described overseas compatriots as "the mother of the revolution," President Ma concurred that overseas compatriots have indeed played crucial roles in both the 1911 Revolution and the War of Resistance against Japan (1937-1945). The president cited the contribution to the ROC of an overseas compatriot who lived in America, Arthur Chin (陳瑞鈿), who was known as "China's Warhawk." In the wake of the Mukden Incident in 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria, Chin appealed to young overseas compatriots to return to China to serve in the air force. Chin and his fellow pilots downed eight Japanese warplanes, becoming war heroes. This achievement is exhibited in the ROC Air Force Museum and featured in a display at a World War II Memorial Museum in Texas.
The president also described to the visitors the administrative achievements of the government over the past two-plus years, explaining that he has strived to improve cross-strait relations in order to move toward peace and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait and wind down hostility that dates back several decades. The president said he has sought to end conflict by means of reconciliation, and to shift from confrontation to negotiation. This, he remarked, has helped to gradually expand space for Taiwan in the international community. At the same time, Taiwan is building more friendly relations with the United States, Japan, and other countries. For instance, the president noted that Taiwan's donations to Japan in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 11 have reached NT$5.8 billion, and over 20 members from Japan's House of Representatives and House of Councillors on May 8 attended ceremonies marking the opening of the Yoichi Hatta Memorial Park at the Wushantou Reservoir in Tainan City. This highlights a change in Taiwan's international image from the past.
President Ma also noted that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have signed 15 agreements, and 370 flights ply direct cross-strait routes each week. In terms of protecting the property rights of private citizens, the most significant achievement has been the signing of a cross-strait agreement to combat crime. The president pointed to statistics saying that scam operations in 2006 and 2007 resulted in losses of some NT$18 billion, but that marked a peak, and a gradual reduction has been seen since then. It is expected that losses due to criminal activities this year will drop 40%, he said. In the meantime, the number of tourist arrivals from mainland China last year came to about 1.63 million. The increased tourism is helping to foster understanding and friendship between the two sides, and also helps to promote cross-strait peace.
Turning his attention to foreign affairs, the president stated that a total of 54 jurisdictions provided ROC nationals with visa-free courtesies or landing visas when former President Lee Teng-hui served as head of state (1988-2000). During former President Chen Shui-bian's tenure (2000-2008), the number of jurisdictions granting such courtesies dropped to 53. However, the number has now increased to 113, covering 96% of the countries most frequently visited by ROC nationals. This helps the people of Taiwan save time and money, and even more importantly, it shows respect to the people of the ROC. President Ma remarked that since obtaining observer status in 2009, Taiwan has been able to participate in the World Health Assembly in Geneva under the name Chinese Taipei. The ROC's Cabinet-level Department of Health and the representative from mainland China are thus on equal footing there, he said, which is quite a remarkable achievement. President Ma added that as the ROC's head of state, his most important missions are to defend the sovereignty of the ROC, protect and ensure Taiwan's safety, and maintain the dignity of its people.
The president pointed out that the ROC Constitution designates protecting the rights and interests of citizens residing abroad as one of the nation's four major diplomatic missions. Consequently, providing service to overseas compatriots has consistently been a focus of the government's work. The president said that the government has aired the idea of an "all-inclusive overseas Chinese community" to see that cross-strait reconciliation extends to overseas compatriot communities. This, he stated, would enable overseas compatriots from both sides to live in peace and work jointly for stability and prosperity.
President Ma also expressed his hope that the visitors would take advantage of this trip back to Taiwan to gain a better understanding of current conditions in Taiwan and to resolutely support the ROC.
The guests were accompanied to the Presidential Office by Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission Minister Wu Ying-yih (吳英毅) to meet President Ma.