Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

President Ma Ying-jeou met with Governor Brian Schatz from the US State of Hawaii on the morning of May 21 at the Presidential Office. Lieutenant Governor was in Taiwan as head of a delegation participating in the inauguration ceremonies of the 13th-term president and vice president of the ROC. Also attending the meeting were Vice President Wu Den-yih and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuoyu (董國猷).

President Ma remarked that three years ago he made a transit stop in Hawaii during a trip to visit allies in Latin America. Vice President Wu, who at the time served as Kuomintang secretary-general, accompanied him on the trip and the two together visited Pearl Harbor. The president said that he was warmly received by the state government and state legislature, which left a deep impression on him. The president also specially expressed his appreciation to Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie for appointing Lieutenant Governor Schatz to serve as his envoy in attending the inauguration ceremonies.

The president commented that Hawaii and the ROC have a close relationship, since the ROC's founding father Dr. Sun Yat-sen went to secondary school in Hawaii, and he happened to attend the same school that the future US President Barack Obama later attended. The president also explained that as part last year’s ROC centenary celebrations, a worldwide torch relay was held, and the initial torch lighting ceremony took place in Honolulu on March 29. The relay ended when the torch reached Taiwan on October 10. This highlighted the significance of Hawaii in the history of the ROC, the president said.

President Ma also stated that the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii has significantly helped to promote the relationship between Taiwan and the United States. Many distinguished individuals from Taiwan have graduated from the University of Hawaii, he pointed out. The president also noted that during last November's APEC Leaders’ Week in Honolulu, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pointed to the strong relationship between Taiwan and the United States, describing Taiwan as an important security and economic partner of the United States. The president added that many of those in the Schatz delegation had also attended a banquet held that evening last November by the delegation from Taiwan.

President Ma mentioned that Hawaii and Taiwan have inked a number of sister state and sister city agreements. Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of the sisterhood agreement between Hawaii and Taiwan province, while this year marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of a sister city agreement between Honolulu and Kaohsiung City, he said.

The president also expressed his gratitude to the Hawaii State House of Representatives and Senate for passing resolutions in recent years supporting participation for Taiwan in the World Health Assembly, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, along with support for inclusion of Taiwan in the US Visa Waiver Program. The president also noted that the delegation on this trip will represent Hawaii in signing a Memorandum of Understanding on Clean Energy Cooperation with the Taichung City Government to jointly develop clean energies, furthermore expressing his hopes that the bilateral cooperation will proceed smoothly. The president also said he hopes that Governor Abercrombie will have an opportunity to lead a delegation to Taiwan at his earliest convenience.

Accompanying Lieutenant Governor Schatz were Speaker of the Hawaii State House of Representatives Calvin K. Y. Say and Hawaii Senate Vice President Donna Kim.