President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of June 19 with a delegation led by Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) President-elect Abiodun Williams. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a cordial welcome to the group on their visit to Taiwan, and reiterated the government's determination to improve the cross-strait relationship in an effort to create peace in the Asia-Pacific region and wellbeing for its people.
The president remarked that the ROC joined the United Nations (UN) in 1945 as a founding member. The nation lost its UN representation in 1971, but to this day, Article 23 of the Charter of the United Nations still indicates that the Republic of China is a permanent member of the Security Council. In addition, Article 110 clearly lists the Republic of China as one of the countries whose ratification of the Charter shall enable it to come into force, he said. At the same time, the president explained, Article 141 of the ROC's Constitution also clearly requires that the foreign policy of the ROC must respect treaties and the Charter of the United Nations. This makes the ROC one of the few nations in the world that incorporates the UN Charter in its Constitution by reference, he stated.
President Ma commented that the ROC is committed to complying with the UN Charter and important related covenants. He furthermore commented that the ROC has sought to return to the UN system since 1993, but has seen little success thus far. On the other hand, the ROC's efforts to participate in important international organizations have been fruitful, he said. For instance, the nation participates in the World Health Assembly as an observer under the name "Chinese Taipei," with its delegate designated as "minister of health." In addition, the president remarked that the government will continue working to join important bodies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The president stated that instability in cross-strait relations had previously been the biggest impediment to Taiwan in the international community. This is why he decided upon taking office to proactively strive for peace between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and an improvement in relations under the framework of the ROC Constitution. He was sought to achieve these goals by maintaining the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force," and by basing policy on the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. Tension between the two sides has already been reduced significantly, he said, adding that bilateral interaction and dealings have become quite close. The president mentioned that over the past four years, some six million people have crossed the Taiwan Strait to visit the other side, with about three million mainlanders having traveled to Taiwan. In addition, each year there are some 10,000 mainland students who study here on exchange programs. These developments are providing an important contribution to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, the president said.
President Ma stressed that cross-strait relations and Taiwan's international relations are complementary, and the present situation constitutes a virtuous cycle. He said that the current state of affairs has lessened Taiwan's isolation in the world community and is creating a greater willingness and confidence among the people of Taiwan to forge even closer relations with mainland China. Looking to the future, the president expressed his hopes that the cross-strait relationship will continue to be peaceful and create greater stability and wellbeing for the region and the people of both sides.
In addition to ACUNS President-elect Abiodun Williams, the delegation included Dr. James Jonah, Senior Fellow at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies of the City University of New York Graduate Center, Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud, Director of the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers University, Ambassador John K. Menzies, Dean of the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University, Ursula Sanjamino, Associate Dean of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University, J. Peter Pham, Director of the Atlantic Council's Michael S. Ansari Africa Center, and Dr. Michael B. Gerrard, Director of the Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Shen-Yeaw Ko (柯森耀) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Philip Y. M. Yang (楊永明).