President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of November 17 at the Presidential Office with the ROC delegation that recently returned from the 2011 APEC Economic Leaders' Week. The president praised the group for its successful interactions with other delegations on the diplomatic and economic affairs fronts. He also reiterated that the government will continue to work for Taiwan to enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) within the next decade and create a "golden decade" for the nation.
The president, in remarks to the delegation, first expressed his gratitude to the delegation members for their hard work. He specially singled out former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), who headed up the ROC's representation for the fourth year. The former vice president, who served as President Ma's representative at the event, delivered an address at the APEC CEO Summit on Global Value-Added Chains. Mr. Lien demonstrated his wealth of foreign affairs acumen during the meetings, and also interacted with President Barack Obama of the United States, as well as leaders from Japan, Singapore, and other states. Mr. Lien's performance helped to win visibility for Taiwan during the event, and enhanced Taiwan's ties with APEC, the president said.
President Ma stated that this year's APEC coincided with debt crises in both the euro zone and the United States. He pointed out that Asia is one of the world's economic locomotives, and events taking place here are attracting widespread attention. At the meeting, he said, President Obama strongly promoted the TPP idea, which won support from the leaders of Japan and Mexico. This regional free trade area will increasingly become an important economic and trade mechanism in the Asia-Pacific. President Ma furthermore noted that his recently announced "Golden Decade, National Visions" blueprint includes a goal of having Taiwan enter the TPP within the next 10 years. While Taiwan presently does not meet the conditions to enter the TPP, and it could run into political obstacles to entry at some point in the future, the president stated that we must pursue this goal with determination, for if Taiwan does not take this road, the nation will probably have no role to play in the process of regional economic integration.
President Ma stressed that the ROC in 1990 applied to enter the World Trade Organization, but wasn't granted admission until 12 years later. While it should not take as long to achieve admission to the TPP, the president pointed out, the most important thing is for the ROC to continue to demonstrate its determination to move towards further liberalization
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The president also mentioned that the 2011 Leaders' Declaration included a statement that the leaders were resolved to reduce applied tariff rates on environmental goods to 5% or less by the end of 2015. Taiwan's electric vehicle, solar power, and bicycle industries are among the "green" industries that will benefit from this undertaking. He called on the Ministry of Economic Affairs to coordinate with related industries and manufacturers to facilitate expanded exports of these products. Meanwhile, the president also recognized the outstanding performance of corporate representatives from Taiwan who attended the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). This enabled representatives from other APEC nations to develop a better understanding of the capacity of Taiwan's corporate sector, he said. At the same time, Mr. Lien and members of the delegation took time out of their schedule while in Honolulu to pay their respects at a bronze statue of the nation's founding father Dr. Sun Yat-sen at the memorial hall of the Revive China Society. The president said he was particularly pleased to see this, and expressed his appreciation.
Following the meeting with the president, the delegation then held a press conference at the Presidential Office. Former vice president Lien explained what occurred during the meetings, and he also accepted questions from the media.
In remarks, the former vice president stated that this marked the second time the APEC Leaders' Week was held in the United States since APEC's founding. In light of the many challenges currently facing the global economy, the United States set forth a range of topics to be discussed that were all closely related to current economic and trade conditions, including "economic growth and employment," "regulatory reform and the enhancement of competitiveness," and "energy security and efficiency." He furthermore explained that the United States also took advantage of this opportunity to promote the TPP, which Japan and Mexico expressed an intention to join. As a result, the future development of the TPP was an important topic at this year's meetings, he said.
Mr. Lien stated that APEC this year also included a slate of CEO summits. He was the main speaker at one event, he pointed out, discussing the challenges presently faced in the industrial supply chain and the role that Chinese Taipei plays in this.
Mr. Lien furthermore remarked that as this year marks the ROC's centenary and as this year's APEC Leaders' Week coincidentally was held in Honolulu where the ROC's founding father established the Revive China Society, the delegation from the ROC on Dr. Sun's birthday specially paid a visit to a bronze statue of Dr. Sun at the memorial hall to pay their respects. The group also interacted and held discussions with overseas compatriots in Honolulu, he said.