President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of June 5 with a delegation from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and reiterated that the government is working to resolve the issue of US beef imports to Taiwan so that negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between Taiwan and the United States can be resumed. He added that the TIFA will serve as a foundation of the nation's efforts to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) within eight years.
In remarks, the president stated that soon after the conclusion of the presidential election here four years ago, then US President George W. Bush and mainland Chinese leader Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) spoke over the phone. During the conversation on March 26, 2008, Mr. Hu clearly expressed his hopes that negotiations between mainland China and Taiwan could be resumed on the foundation of the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China," but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. President Ma said that the remarks made by Mr. Hu signified that mainland China was willing to improve the cross-strait relationship. As a result, he immediately asked Vice President-elect Vincent C. Siew (蕭萬長) to attend the Boao Forum to further confirm that both sides had a consensus on this issue. Subsequently, the president said, many substantive improvements in relations have been seen between the two sides over the past four years.
President Ma mentioned that even though the ROC has improved its relations with mainland China, our commitment to the core values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law has never changed. He further stressed that he has expressed his concern about these issues with regard to mainland China in many venues. For instance, the president said that on June 4 he issued a statement on the 23rd anniversary of the June 4th Incident in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, in which he urged mainland authorities to treat dissidents well and to heal the wounds of the incident. President Ma stated that over the past 23 years, in fact, he has issued a statement or participated in activities each year on June 4 urging mainland authorities to redress the wrongs of the June 4th Incident.
President Ma furthermore stated that at the same time that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are improving relations, Taiwan has sought to strengthen its ties with other nations. He pointed out that mutual trust has been re-established with the United States and Japan at the highest levels. In addition, the number of jurisdictions that provide ROC nationals with visa-free courtesies or landing visas has risen from 54 four years ago to 127 today. Meanwhile, the United States has agreed on three occasions to sell a total of US$18.3 billion worth of arms to Taiwan. The president stated that the United States has made enormous contributions to Taiwan's security and that the government here has always placed the greatest importance on national defense. He pointed out that on June 7 he will observe a small-scale military exercise to better understand the state of the military's preparedness.
Turning the discussion to relations between Taiwan and the United States, President Ma told the visitors that Taiwan has sought for the past five years to resume trade and economic negotiations under the 1994 TIFA agreement. Talks, however, have yet to resume due to the issue of imports of US beef to Taiwan. The president said that two days ago during the 2012 Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade that was held in Kazan, Russia, important developments were seen on this front. At that time, the US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and the ROC Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) held discussions and reached a consensus that if positive developments were seen on the issue of US beef imports here, the United States would be pleased to resume negotiations under the framework of the TIFA.
President Ma emphasized that this consensus has important meaning for Taiwan. He said that the government will continue to work to resolve this issue, which will pave the way for Taiwan to effectively participate in regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific. This includes discussion with the United States on a bilateral investment, avoidance of double taxation, and creation of the conditions for Taiwan to achieve its objective of joining the TPP within the next eight years. At the same time, the president said that Taiwan is eagerly waiting for the United States to include it in its Visa Waiver Program in the second half of this year.
The president also expressed his appreciation to AEI President Arthur Brooks for sending him a message of congratulations after he was elected to another term. The president furthermore expressed his hopes that the visitors will provide assistance on the aforementioned topics and will continue to provide their valuable opinions on Taiwan-US relations and the situation in the Asia-Pacific.
The delegation was led by Senior Fellow John Bolton to the Presidential Office to meet with President Ma. Also attending the meeting were National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真) and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuoyu (董國猷).