President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of March 1 with the ROC's new representative to Japan, Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳). During the meeting, the president emphasized that the government's decision to dispatch Mr. Shen, who was vice minister of foreign affairs in his previous position, to serve as the ROC's representative to Japan highlights the importance that the government places on the Taiwan-Japan relationship. President Ma encouraged Representative Shen to continue with the work that outgoing Representative Feng Chi-tai (馮寄台) has carried out over the past three-plus years in building the relationship between the two countries, thereby raising substantive relations between Taiwan and Japan to a new level.
President Ma described progress in relations between Taiwan and Japan over the past three-plus years since he took office in May 2008. He noted that in 2008 the government designated the Taiwan-Japan relationship as a special partnership and then designated 2009 as "The Year to Foster the Special Partnership between Taiwan and Japan." In April 2009, Taiwan and Japan signed a working holiday agreement. In addition, Japan decided to indicate on the residency permits of ROC citizens residing in Japan that their nationality was "Taiwan." On December 1, 2009, Taiwan established a representative office in Sapporo. Just days later on December 11, amendments were made to the aviation treaty between the two countries, which paved the way for direct flights to commence between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport the following year. In 2010, the president said, former Japanese prime ministers Taro Aso, Shinzo Abe, and Yoshiro Mori made visits to Taiwan. Meanwhile, Taiwan established the Taipei Cultural Center in Tokyo. The ROC already maintains cultural centers in Europe and the United States, but this is the first cultural center it has established in Asia. On April 30, 2010, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening interaction and cooperation. President Ma also pointed out that the people of Taiwan made generous donations to Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11 last year. These factors helped to propel bilateral relations to new heights. Also, the Japanese parliament (the Diet) passed the Law Concerning Promotion of Exhibitions of Art Objects from Overseas, thus making it possible for items from the National Palace Museum to be exhibited in Japan. In May of 2011, Seishiro Eto, the vice speaker of Japan's House of Representatives, visited Taiwan to express gratitude for the assistance provided to Japan by Taiwan after the disaster. This marked the first time that a standing vice speaker from that legislative body had visited Taiwan since the severing of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries. In addition, Taiwan completed the Yoichi Hatta Memorial Park at the Wushantou Reservoir in May 2011. On September 22, 2011, the two countries signed the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement, and then on November 10, 2011, Japan and Taiwan signed an open skies agreement, the president said.
President Ma stressed that the aforementioned achievements indicate that over the past three-plus years, the development of relations between Taiwan and Japan, in terms of both the level and the frequency of contacts, is unprecedented in the past 40 years, and they show that reconciliation in cross-strait relations is simultaneously boosting relations between Taiwan and Japan. "This is a peace dividend from improving cross-strait relations," he said. President Ma also cited a survey conducted by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan in June of last year that showed that 67% of Japanese respondents feel a sense of closeness with Taiwan, 84% of respondents believe that Taiwan is trustworthy, and that 91% believed that present relations between Taiwan and Japan are good.
President Ma pointed out that Representative Shen has overseen the conduct of relations with Japan since his promotion to vice minister of foreign affairs two years ago. Moreover, he studied Japanese when he was a university student, and furthered his studies of Japanese when he served as secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so he has a strong reading comprehension of Japanese, and has also stated that he intends to work hard to further boost his fluency in Japanese in the coming months. He aims to deliver a public address in Japanese within the next half year.
The president mentioned that Representative Shen is a senior diplomat whose responsibilities as vice minister of foreign affairs ran the entire gamut of foreign policy. Consequently, he brings a broad perspective to his work. The government's decision to appoint the vice minister of foreign affairs as its representative to Japan underscores the importance that the government places on relations between the two nations. President Ma also said he has asked Liao Liou-yi (廖了以), who was previously secretary-general of the Kuomintang, to serve as chairman of the Association of East Asian Relations. He stated that he is confident that Mr. Liao's family background and his wide-ranging contacts in Japan, plus his previous posts as secretary-general to the president and minister of the interior, will aid him in his new position. President Ma said he is confident that Mr. Liao and Representative Shen will work well together in promoting closer ties with Japan.
President Ma stressed that the conduct of relations with Japan is a team effort, and the most important thing is that policies be correct. In his conduct of the ROC's diplomatic relations, he seeks to identify correct policies, create win-win situations, and impress upon the international community that the ROC is an asset. The government's foreign policy is extremely clear, the president said, reiterating that the ROC wants to be a peacemaker, a provider of humanitarian aid, a promoter of cultural ties, a creator of new technologies and business opportunities, and a standard-bearer of Chinese culture.
The president mentioned that initially after he was elected four years ago, some media outlets in Japan were concerned that he would not be friendly to Japan. He said that now Japanese friends understand that he is not anti-Japanese, and that he is actually Japan-savvy and Japan-friendly.
President Ma expressed his belief that there is still room for further growth in bilateral ties in such areas as the economy, culture, tourism, post-disaster reconstruction, education, and technology. He called on Representative Shen to continue working to enhance relations in these areas, and to further improve relations between the two countries.
Representative Shen said he is deeply honored to be a part of the ROC's diplomatic team in Japan. He stressed that he will work together with the rest of the team to propel ties between the two countries to new heights.
Representative Shen was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang (楊進添) and Association of East Asian Relations Chairman Liao Liou-yi to meet with President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真).