President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of June 1 with domestic and foreign scholars attending the 2011 International Law Association Asia-Pacific Regional Conference. The president specially prepared boxes of pineapple cakes, a favorite confection among mainland Chinese tourists, for the guests as gifts and explained the state of cross-strait relations.
In remarks to the gathering, the president said that he has long participated in affairs of the Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law. He noted that in the past when he studied at New York University and Harvard University he majored in international law, adding that his doctoral dissertation advisor was Professor Louis Sohn. After returning to Taiwan, the president said, he taught international law at National Chengchi University for 18 years. Consequently, he has a deep emotional attachment to this area of study.
President Ma noted that the Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law has published its annual yearbook both in Chinese and English for many years, and considerable weight is given to the report at home and abroad. The president added that he has also been involved in editing of the Chinese version of the annual report for many years. Several years ago, the society cooperated with the UK's Cameron May publishing house in publishing and issuing the English-language Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs . The president remarked that this helps the international community to better understand the latest research on international law by the academic community here.
The president noted that Taiwan's status in the international community is quite special. While the ROC has only 23 diplomatic allies and its involvement in international affairs is quite limited, the more pressure it faces the more it needs to find a unique path for itself in order to survive in the international community, he said.
President Ma mentioned that during his address at the opening of the conference on May 30 he noted that the cross-strait situation is different from that of the two Germanys or the two Koreas. Criteria need to be developed to effectively resolve cross-strait issues, he said. Over the past three years he has made every effort to forge rapprochement in the Taiwan Strait, which has brought incipient signs of peace and helped to gradually expand room for Taiwan to participate in the international community. He commented that the cross-strait relationship is unique. The governments of the two sides on the one hand can sign agreements, but have overlapping sovereignty claims, which is why he advocates the concept of “mutual non-recognition and mutual non-denial” (The two sides do not recognize each other’s sovereignty, nor do they deny each other’s authority to govern.) as the best interpretation of the cross-strait status quo. This stance also provides room for the development of relations between the two sides in the future, he said.
The delegation included Lord Mance, Chair of the International Law Association, Nicolaas J. Schrijver, President of the International Law Association, and Jen Yang (楊楨), President of the Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law . The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ssu-Tsun Shen (沈斯淳) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu (劉志攻).