President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of November 28 with National Commander of The American Legion James E. Koutz and Mrs. Koutz, and The American Legion Auxiliary National President Peggy Thomas. In addition to recognizing the important role that veterans have played in national development, the president also expressed his appreciation for the longstanding contributions that these organizations have made in maintaining security cooperation between the ROC and the United States.
In remarks, the president stated that The American Legion is the largest organization of veterans in the United States, with current membership at about three million. The organization is highly influential in the United States, he said. In addition, the ROC for decades has maintained close contact with The American Legion, the president commented, adding that the Executive Yuan's Veterans Affairs Council each year is invited to participate in the organization's annual assembly. The American Legion at its annual congress has on many occasions passed resolutions urging the US government to continue selling advanced defensive arms to Taiwan, the president noted.
President Ma stated that since taking office in 2008, he has met with numerous high-ranking officers of The American Legion and the women's auxiliary at the Presidential Office, which he said demonstrates the close relationship between those organizations and Taiwan.
The president explained that veterans have played a critical role at many stages of the ROC's history, including the retrocession of Taiwan, protecting Taiwan, helping to build Taiwan, and defending Taiwan. Veterans have made an enormous contribution to Taiwan, and consequently the government places a high degree of importance on safeguarding the interests of veterans, the president said.
President Ma also mentioned that the United States on November 1 this year formally included Taiwan in its Visa Waiver Program. The president reiterated his appreciation for this, noting that the ROC has only 23 diplomatic allies but that 131 nations and areas provide visa-free courtesies to ROC nationals, which shows that while many nations are unable to maintain formal diplomatic relations with the ROC due to international realities, the vast majority of countries are willing to maintain substantive economic, trade, and cultural relations with Taiwan. In the future, the ROC will not only continue working to forge even greater friendship and steady relations with its diplomatic allies, but also will strive to boost its substantive relationships with countries with which it doesn't maintain diplomatic relations, the president stated. This will enable the ROC and its friends around the world to maintain friendly ties free of political interference.
The president furthermore explained that he has pursued an active policy of improving relations with mainland China since taking office over four years ago, which has considerably reduced tensions in the Taiwan Strait and generated greater peace in East Asia. At the same time, the ROC has also improved its relations with the United States, Japan, the European Union, and countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the president said, noting that this has enabled Taiwan to create greater breathing room for itself in the international community. Taiwan is step by step moving toward its objectives of "cross-strait peace" and "friendly relations with the international community," he said. Consequently, in discussing the recent tensions caused by the sovereignty dispute over the Diaoyutai Islets in the East China Sea, the president noted, the ROC has taken the lead in urging all parties to shelve the sovereignty dispute and instead jointly develop the area's resources in the spirit of peace and mutual benefit.
President Ma stated that the United States has long implemented a volunteer military system that has achieved considerable success. Next year, he said, the ROC will launch a volunteer military system to achieve defense capabilities that are "lean," "nimble," and "strong." Besides acting as a deterrent to external threats, this will also enable better allocation of national resources, he said.
The visitors were accompanied to the Presidential Office by Veterans Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chin Hsiao-hui (金筱輝) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lu Hsiao-jung (陸小榮).