President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of May 24 attended the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Thematic Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law. During an address to the over 100 experts and scholars from Taiwan, Japan, Germany, the United States, and other nations, the president introduced the principles governing Taiwan's conduct of cross-strait affairs, and some of the things that have been achieved.
In remarks, President Ma stated that the International Academy of Comparative Law was founded in The Hague in the Netherlands in 1924. The organization is widely respected throughout the world and is the most important and largest comparative law body in the world, he said. The president explained that Taiwan in 2007 applied to become its 67th national committee, and this year's event is being hosted by National Taiwan University (NTU). President Ma added that as a graduate of NTU he feels deeply honored that his alma mater is holding this year's event.
President Ma remarked that China's legal history can be traced back more than 2,000 years. Revolutionaries in 1911 overthrew China's monarchical system to establish the first democratic republic in Asia, the Republic of China, he said. Over the course of several decades, the nation introduced a civil law system and drew on the experience of Germany, Switzerland and other countries, the president stated, calling this the largest legal transplant in the history of mankind. Even though subsequently the ROC government moved to Taiwan following the Chinese civil war, the ROC has continued to borrow from both civil law and common law systems, he said.
President Ma furthermore discussed the characteristics of the legal system in relation to cross-strait relations. He pointed out that Taiwan in 1987 began allowing its residents to return to mainland China to visit relatives. Subsequently, the two sides gradually began allowing cross-strait travel for such purpose as tourism, trade, investment, and educational activities. The government naturally needed to formulate a body of laws and a framework to cope with the increasingly frequent interaction between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. However, the question was how to resolve the overlapping claims of sovereignty on both sides. President Ma stated that the government realized from the start that this issue would not be easy to "resolve," but that it ought to at least be "manageable." The goal was to keep problems between the two sides from deteriorating further.
President Ma furthermore stated that the government has promoted cross-strait relations based on the existing foundation of the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China," but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. Four years ago when he took office, he immediately decided to improve cross-strait relations and resume negotiations between the two sides, he said. The president noted that over the past several years, Taiwan and mainland China have signed 16 agreements, including the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, with other accords covering issues such as transportation, trade, food safety, and mutual judicial assistance. All of those constitute unprecedented developments in relations between the two sides, he said.
President Ma said that the aforementioned principle is based on the concept of "mutual non-recognition of sovereignty" and "mutual non-denial of governing authority." This concept, he added, was inspired by Germany's experience, pointing to the 1972 Basic Treaty that set the foundation for relations between East Germany and West Germany. Both Germanys agreed to use the word hoheitsgewalt in place of souveranitaet in order to draw a line between the concepts of "sovereignty" and "governing authority," the president said.
The president also mentioned that after the ROC government in 1991 amended the Constitution, the authorities in mainland China ceased to be deemed rebel group, and the ROC government instead began distinguishing between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait as the free area and the Chinese mainland area. At the same time, the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the People of the Mainland Area was enacted to handle cross-strait issues. Within this law, the Taiwan area is defined as "Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and any other areas in which the government has jurisdiction," while the mainland area is defined as "the territory of the Republic of China outside of the Taiwan area." President Ma said the government uses these definitions in its conduct of cross-strait ties, adding that interaction between the two sides was considered neither international nor domestic in nature.
President Ma emphasized that the government has adopted pragmatic and innovative methods in conducting cross-strait relations. The events of the past four-plus years have proven that this is a good way to handle the relationship, he said, adding that the government in the future will continue to embrace these principles and will, under the framework of the ROC Constitution, use existing avenues for interaction to promote the development of cross-strait peace and prosperity. The president expressed his confidence that these efforts will be both welcomed and applauded by the international community.
President Ma also mentioned that over the past four-plus years, the number of jurisdictions that provide ROC nationals with visa-free courtesies or landing visas has risen sharply from 54 to 127. He said that this gradually is proving that the ROC is an asset to the international community. The ROC, he stated, will continue 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. At the same time, the nation will continue to learn from the experience of other countries in a number of fields, including law, he said.
Among those attending the event were International Academy of Comparative Law President Professor George Bermann, National Taiwan University Vice President Bau Tzong-Ho (包宗和), National Taiwan University College of Law Dean Ming-Cheng Tsai (蔡明誠), and International Academy of Comparative Law Taiwan National Committee Chairman Wang Wen-Yeu (王文宇).