President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of July 17 with a delegation of parliamentarians from the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) led by PARLACEN President Manolo Pichardo Arias. President Ma, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, expressed a cordial welcome to the visitors on their trip to Taiwan. He also stated his hopes for a continued expansion of cooperation between the ROC and its allies in Central America based on the existing foundation of friendship, thereby creating greater wellbeing for the people of both sides.
In remarks, the president stated that the ROC's Legislative Yuan in 1999 became a permanent observer at PARLACEN and since then the two sides have enjoyed an increasingly close relationship. In particular, PARLACEN on many occasions has spoken on behalf of the ROC at United Nations-affiliated organizations, while also passing resolutions and declarations calling for strengthened relations with the ROC. For instance, in 2010 at a climate change conference in Nicaragua attended by member states of the System of Central American Integration, participants passed a resolution supporting meaningful participation for the ROC in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In addition, PARLACEN last year passed a resolution congratulating the ROC on its centenary. These actions demonstrate the staunch support for the ROC by PARLACEN.
President Ma remarked that since taking office in 2008 he has strived to promote reconciliation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and his administration has sought to pursue peaceful development in cross-strait relations based on the principles of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" under the framework of the ROC Constitution. In this process, he has looked to the "1992 Consensus," i.e. "one China, respective interpretations" as the basis of ties between the two sides. At the same time, changes have been seen in Taiwan's external relations. The president pointed out that the ROC and mainland China no longer engage in a contentious bid to woo diplomatic allies, wasting resources in the process. This, he said, has enabled the ROC's relations with its diplomatic allies to remain quite stable.
The president explained that under the condition that bilateral alliances are not impacted, the ROC does not oppose its diplomatic partners developing non-official economic and trade relations with mainland China. He specifically stated that over the past four years the government has proactively promoted the policy of "viable diplomacy," which on the one hand has improved the cross-strait relationship and reduced tensions in the Taiwan Strait, while on the other hand has enabled the ROC's alliance with its diplomatic partners to develop smoothly. This has created a virtuous cycle via which positive developments in cross-strait relations are conducive to fostering Taiwan's international relationships.
President Ma stated that the ROC has signed free trade agreements with several of its Central American allies, which has enabled bilateral trade to grow substantially over the past several years. He expressed his hopes that continued cooperation will be forged and expanded under these frameworks that will be mutually beneficial to the people in all nations involved.
In addition to President Pichardo, the PARLACEN delegation included Vice President Everardo de Leon de la Rosa from Panama, parliamentarians Guillermo Daniel Ortega Reyes from Nicaragua, Oscar Armando Escalante Ayala from Honduras, and Paula Lorena Rodriguez from Guatemala. Also in the delegation were Nicaragua Ambassador to the ROC William Manuel Tapia Aleman, Dominican Republic Ambassador to the ROC Rafaela Alburquerque de Gonzalez, and Guatemala Ambassador to the ROC Arturo Duarte Ortiz. The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon 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).