President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of September 27 met with foreign guests attending the 61st World Congress of the International Press Institute (IPI) that had just concluded in Taipei. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a warm welcome to the visitors.
The president first congratulated the IPI on staging a successful congress. He commented that the heads of major media organizations from around the world took advantage of the meeting to reach a consensus on a number of important issues. The president noted that the IPI regularly provides assistance and support to journalists from Taiwan who encounter difficulties when reporting news at various international events, and he expressed his appreciation in this regard.
The president stated that the IPI has longstanding and close ties with the ROC. He noted that the IPI visited Taiwan in 1970 and officials from the organization met with late President Chiang Kai-shek. At the time, Taiwan was still under martial law and many restrictions were still in place that inhibited press freedom. However, the president noted that in 1987, martial law was lifted and the ban on establishing new newspapers was also abolished. This, he said, paved the way for unprecedented diversity in Taiwan. Twelve years after the lifting of martial law, the IPI held its annual congress in Taiwan, President Ma remarked, furthermore stating that Taiwan at that time had already directly elected its president for the first time. The following year, the nation experienced its first transition of power among political parties, he said. Since then, Freedom House, an American think tank, has consistently listed Taiwan as a "free nation," which was a major change from its listing of Taiwan as a "partially free nation" during the martial law era.
President Ma furthermore said that the IPI this year has held its annual congress in Taiwan once again at a time when two peaceful transitions of power have taken place and democracy has already become a way of life here. Moreover, Taiwan's democracy is highly regarded the world over. The president also emphasized that even though Taiwan has already become a fully democratic nation, it is still a young democracy. In terms of democratic systems, press freedom, and other areas, Taiwan still has considerable room to advance, he remarked, adding that the nation will continue to work hard in pursuit of this in the future.
IPI Chairman Carl-Eugen Eberle expressed his gratitude to the government for the assistance it provided to the organization in holding the congress and for its hospitality.
Chairman Eberle and over 20 other guests were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by Government Information Office Minister Philip Y. M. Yang (楊永明) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Tung Kuo-yu (董國猷).