President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of November 27 with Governor of American Samoa Togiola T. A. Tulafono and Mrs. Tulafono. Besides cordially welcoming Governor and Mrs. Tulafono to Taiwan on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, the president also expressed his desire for a further expansion of cooperative relations between the two sides.
In remarks, the president noted that Governor Tulafono previously served as the Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa starting in 1996. He led a delegation to Taiwan in 2000, and in 2003 became governor, a position he has held for nearly 10 years. President Ma stated that the development and achievements of American Samoa today are in large part due to the important leadership provided by Governor Tulafono.
The president noted that American Samoa is one of the birthplaces of Polynesian culture, furthermore noting that Taiwan's indigenous peoples also are considered part of the Austronesian cultural family . According to genetic testing and anthropological research, Taiwan's indigenous tribes are the cradle of Austronesian culture, and have direct ties to Polynesian maternal blood lines, he remarked. Consequently, he said, he feels a special kindred bond with Governor Tulafono.
President Ma stated that the natural environments in Taiwan and American Samoa are quite similar. The fisheries industry is important to the economies of both places, he said, adding that American Samoa is an important refueling port in the Pacific for Taiwan's deep sea fishing vessels. Meanwhile, Taiwan, the president explained, is impacted by typhoons each year, and American Samoa also regularly feels the effects of typhoons and tsunamis. At such times, Taiwan, based on its commitment to humanitarian assistance, actively comes to the aid of American Samoa through donations, the president said, adding that relations between the two sides are quite close and friendly.
The president emphasized that he has sought to improve relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait since taking office over four years ago. To date, Taiwan and mainland China have signed 18 agreements and reached two points of consensus. At the same time, Taiwan has worked hard to rebuild trust with the United States at the highest levels. In addition to cooperation in the areas of security as well as economic and trade ties, the two sides work closely together in fighting against terrorism, human trafficking, and nuclear proliferation, and concrete results have been seen. President Ma noted that the United States on November 1 this year formally included Taiwan in its Visa Waiver Program, becoming the 129th jurisdiction to provide visa-free courtesies to ROC nationals. In addition, among the 37 countries in the Visa Waiver Program, the ROC is the only one with which the United States does not have formal diplomatic relations, he said. The president also pointed out that more recently Paraguay and Belize have followed suit by offering visa-free courtesies to ROC nationals. This proves that Taiwan's efforts to improve its relations with the international community are paying off, he said.
In discussing economic and trade relations between Taiwan and the United States, the president stated that the United States has already agreed to resume negotiations with Taiwan under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, and expressed his hope that the negotiations will begin as soon as possible, as they will help to create the conditions for Taiwan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership in the future and hasten Taiwan's inclusion in regional economic integration.
President Ma stated that two years ago he visited Kiribati and the Solomon Islands, two ROC diplomatic allies in the South Pacific that are near American Samoa, and he would also like to have the opportunity to visit American Samoa in the future in order to further expand cooperative relations between the two.
The delegation included Deputy Chief of Staff Motu Laau Seui Jr., Assistant Legal Counsel Marc Douglas Fiaui, Department of Commerce Acting Director Lelei Peau , and First Lady Tulafono's Chief of Staff Kathryn McCutchan-Tupua. The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Gary Song-Huann Lin (林松煥) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-tien Yang (楊進添) and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Philip Y. M. Yang (楊永明).