Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of January 20 with Mr. William A. Stanton, Director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan, and expressed his appreciation for congratulations extended by Director Stanton on behalf of the United States on his re-election to another term in office. President Ma also indicated his sincerest desire to see the continued promotion of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

President Ma expressed his gratitude to US President Barack Obama and the US government for their congratulations, and added that the ROC was greatly encouraged by the congratulatory remarks issued by the United States on January 14. President Ma said that he has already publicly quoted the remarks a number of times and that the Taiwan media has reported on them. The message extended by the United States highlights the friendship between the two countries.

With regard to economic and trade issues, President Ma reiterated that the ROC hopes to become a party to the Trans-Pacific Partnership within the next 10 years. He added that the government will continue working to liberalize Taiwan's economy, and that he hopes to see even stronger interaction between Taiwan and the United States in the future.

Director Stanton was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuoyu (董國猷) to meet with President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真).