President Ma Ying-jeou, in the company of Vice President Vincent C. Siew, met on the afternoon of March 30 with the ROC delegation that will attend the 2012 Boao Forum for Asia, which is held annually in Boao in mainland China's Hainan Province. The president expressed his hopes that attendance at the forum will help to bridge the distance between Taiwan and the world. He encouraged honorary delegation leader, Vice President-elect Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), to take advantage of participation in the event to build up his contacts with leaders from mainland China and other countries, which will help the government create a more stable foundation for work over the coming four years.
In remarks, the president first praised Vice President Siew for the outstanding contributions he has made over the years when he attended the Boao Forum. President Ma furthermore noted that Vice President Siew first led a delegation to the event when it was inaugurated in 2003, and six years ago during the forum he played a critical role in the founding of the Cross-Strait Economic, Trade, and Cultural Forum.
The president recalled that after he and Vice President Siew were elected on March 22, 2008, former US President George W. Bush and Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) spoke over the phone on March 26, and during the call General Secretary Hu clearly expressed his hope that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait would resume negotiations on the basis of the 1992 Consensus. Under the consensus, President Ma remarked, both sides acknowledge the existence of "one China" while allowing for differing respective interpretations of what that means. That year when then Vice President-elect Siew attended the Boao Forum, the president said, he asked the vice president to deliver a 16-character policy declaration, which constituted a clear message to General Secretary Hu that Taiwan desired to resume negotiations and to promote cross-strait relations.
President Ma stated that thanks to the efforts of the government and many other parties, cross-strait relations have seen concrete advances over the past nearly four years. Besides a reduction of tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the two sides have signed 16 agreements. Last year, bilateral trade exceeded US$160 billion, setting a new record high. In particular, since the signing of the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), tariffs have been reduced and intellectual property rights are now protected. The ECFA has created an economic cooperation mechanism via which the two sides can exchange opinions on a wide variety of topics.
The president emphasized that in the face of challenges in the global economy, the government will continue to plan out how to further promote cross-strait cooperation and hasten ECFA follow-up negotiations. At the same time, Taiwan wants to strengthen its interaction and cooperation with other economic partners, and hopes within 10 years to create the conditions to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
President Ma pointed out that a free trade agreement between the United States and South Korea took effect on March 15 this year. According to estimates by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, some US$3.3 billion of Taiwan's exports and 5,700 jobs could be lost as a result. In addition, in five years nearly all South Korean products exported to the United States will be exempt from tariffs. Consequently, foreign companies could be more inclined to invest in South Korea than in Taiwan. What is more, South Korea, Japan, and mainland China are presently in negotiations on a free trade agreement. If that accord is completed too soon, it could further offset the advantages to Taiwan brought about by the ECFA, thereby impacting Taiwan's long-term economic development.
President Ma furthermore stated that while it is true that we have already signed the ECFA with mainland China, our largest trading partner, and have also signed an investment protection agreement with Japan, our second largest trading partner, it is also a fact that the issue of US beef has delayed efforts to restart talks with the US under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. The president expressed his hopes that negotiations can be resumed in the future as soon as possible so that normal trade and investment relations can return between Taiwan and its third largest trading and investment partner.
The president also expressed his hope that the members of the delegation will convey to representatives from other countries taking part in the forum that Taiwan has a strong interest in participating in regional economic integration and intends to further promote trade liberalization to keep in step with world economic and trade trends.
The theme of this year's Boao Forum is "Asia in the Changing World: Moving toward Sound & Sustainable Development." The delegation, which includes Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation Chairman Chan Hou-sheng (詹火生), Taiwan Stock Exchange Chairman Schive Chi (薛琦), and Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), was led to the Presidential Office by honorary delegation leader Wu and delegation leader Fredrick F. Chien (錢復) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真).