President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of December 13 with United States Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel B. Poneman. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a warm welcome to Deputy Secretary Poneman on his visit to Taiwan.
President Ma first asked Deputy Secretary Poneman to pass along his best regards to US Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu, who is a fellow at the Academia Sinica, Taiwan's foremost academic research institution. The president remarked that he asked former Vice President Lien Chan (連戰) to serve as his representative to the APEC economic leaders meeting that was held in Honolulu, Hawaii in mid-November. Mr. Lien, he said, was treated with the utmost courtesy by the United States during his stay in Honolulu, and Taiwan deeply appreciates this.
President Ma commented that during the APEC meetings, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered an address at the East-West Center in Honolulu entitled "America's Pacific Century." Secretary Clinton specially mentioned that Taiwan is an important security and economic partner of the United States, and she further emphasized the close relationship between the two sides. Recently, the president said, he had an opportunity to discuss international assistance with Dr. Rajiv Shah, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), when the latter visited Taiwan. The president explained that the ROC has provided substantive humanitarian assistance to Haiti, Japan, mainland China, and other places in recent years, adding that the ROC is actively serving in the international community as a "provider of humanitarian assistance."
President Ma commented that the United States and Taiwan maintain close cooperation in the areas of anti-terrorism, nuclear nonproliferation, homeland security, the "Megaports Initiative," and controls on strategic and high-tech exports. Meanwhile, the two countries also have close interaction in the areas of technology, economy, education, and culture. The president expressed his desire for the continued development of bilateral relations under the principle of mutual benefit.
President Ma also mentioned that the ROC and the United States have close ties in the field of energy technology, as well as other related industries. Taiwan relies on imports for over 99% of its energy needs, and 17% of its power needs are provided by nuclear generation. Consequently, the challenges that Taiwan faces in its energy policy are different from those faced by countries that have their own energy sources or are able to easily obtain energy. Therefore, in March of this year after the nuclear power accident in Japan caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, Taiwan immediately began re-examining its existing nuclear energy policies. While this effort was going on, Taiwan also closely monitored the situation in Japan and gained understanding about the causes of the disaster. President Ma said Taiwan hopes to gradually become a nuclear-free nation. As it works to achieve this objective, the nation will do its utmost to ensure nuclear safety, reduce the generation of nuclear power step by step, and create an environment conducive to the development of green energy and low carbon emissions. The nation, he stated, will slowly reduce its reliance on nuclear power under the three principles of “no power rationing, maintaining reasonable power prices, and fulfilling the nation’s pledges to the international community to reduce carbon emissions.”
President Ma also explained to Deputy Secretary Poneman the success that Taiwan has achieved so far in its efforts to promote energy conservation and the reduction of carbon. Carbon emissions have been reduced significantly, he said, adding that energy efficiency has been raised. In the coming few years, Taiwan will complete a plan in which all traffic lights and street lamps will be converted to LED lamps. Meanwhile, Taiwan over the next 10 years will implement a project in which 1,000 wind turbines will be erected onshore and offshore, and solar panels sufficient to power one million households will be installed. This will help to create a green energy and low carbon environment while also reducing Taiwan's reliance on oil and coal, he remarked.
The president stressed that while Taiwan is facing unprecedented challenges in terms of energy issues, he is confident that the nation will gradually achieve the objectives it has set forth and fulfill its commitments made to the international community. He expressed his hope that Taiwan and the United States will expand their cooperation and interaction in energy technology and related industries.
Deputy Secretary Poneman stated that the United States has placed great importance on its friendship with Taiwan over the decades, and that ties in the areas of culture, education, technology, and applications have yielded fruitful and diverse achievements. Secretary of State Clinton has mentioned the important security and economic partnership between Taiwan and the United States, and US President Barack Obama has also expressed the importance of the Asia-Pacific region. In fact, Deputy Secretary Poneman said, 17 national-level laboratories in the United States already engage in cooperation with Taiwan.
The deputy secretary also remarked that during his visit he has met with a number of local scholars and experts to discuss a variety of issues, including wind power, bio-energy, and clean energy. He said the green energy policies of the ROC government, as well as the promotion and success of energy conservation and carbon reduction, have made a deep impression on him. Over the past 15 years, he remarked, Taiwan and the United States have maintained a close cooperative relationship in nuclear power use and security, thereby providing both sides with even greater safety guarantees in this respect. Deputy Secretary Poneman expressed his hope that the two sides will be able to continue to enhance their interaction and help to create a sustainably prosperous environment for the region and the world.
Deputy Secretary Poneman was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by American Institute in Taiwan Taipei Office Director William A. Stanton to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真), Atomic Energy Council Minister Tsai Chuen-horng (蔡春鴻), and National Science Council Minister Lee Lou-chuang (李羅權).