President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of November 29 with Republic of the Marshall Islands Nitijela (the lower house of parliament) Speaker Donald Capelle and Mrs. Capelle and Senator Kessai Note and Mrs. Note. On behalf of the government and people of the ROC, the president welcomed the visitors and explained cooperation projects carried out by the ROC in the Marshall Islands, including efforts to promote energy conservation and carbon reduction, healthcare services, and human resources development.
In remarks, the president stated that he visited the ROC's Pacific allies in 2010, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands was the first stop on that journey. President Ma said that the gorgeous atoll and the warmhearted people made a deep impression on him. He commented that the effects of global warming in recent years have caused sea levels to rise, presenting a threat to the Marshall Islands. Consequently, the ROC is working together with the Marshall Islands to promote energy conservation and carbon reduction. The president cited as one example the Light From Taiwan project, which the ROC has promoted among allies in the South Pacific, Latin America, and Africa. The ROC has provided 6,010 handheld solar-powered lamps in the Marshall Islands to provide illumination in households lacking electricity in the evening. Last year, he said, a total of 115 solar-powered lamps were installed alongside roads in the capital of Majuro and at basketball courts. Furthermore, this year some 20 "solar-powered computer centers" will be established throughout the outlying islands to reduce the development gap between various parts of the Marshall Islands, he said.
President Ma stated that during his visit to the Marshall Islands, he encountered a retired civil servant who had lost his vision due to cataracts but later recovered his vision after surgery by a medical team from Taiwan's Wan Fang Hospital. The man thus received a second lease on life, which the president said was deeply touching. Meanwhile, the ROC also has helped the Marshall Islands develop human resources. The Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund, for example, has for many years provided scholarships to the youth of that nation. At the same time, Taiwan and the United States are cooperating in promoting the "Pacific Island Leadership Partnership with Taiwan," he said. In the future, select students from nations in the Pacific will be able to receive training at The East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii and the Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs in Taipei, the president said. The plan is to provide training to 125 outstanding students from Pacific island nations over the coming five years, he noted.
President Ma also mentioned that Senator Note served as the president of the Marshall Islands from 2000 to 2007 and during that period visited Taiwan six times, signing a number of cooperative agreements with the ROC, including a volunteer agreement, a health cooperation agreement, and an agreement on exchanging information to prevent money laundering. Meanwhile, he remarked, Senator Note has spoken on behalf of the ROC at the United Nations and other international organizations, calling for participation by the ROC in international agencies. President Ma stated that he recently unveiled the East China Sea Peace Initiative in response to the dispute regarding sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islets. He said that the Marshall Islands has expressed strong support for this initiative in many international venues, which has enabled even more nations to understand the ROC's efforts to promote peace. This initiative, he commented, is aimed at restoring peace, stability, and cooperation in the East China Sea.
President Ma also expressed his hopes that the ROC and the Marshall Islands will be able to continue to further expand their cooperative relationship and forge even greater national development for both countries.
The visitors, along with Ambassador of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to the ROC Phillip K. Kabua, were accompanied to the Presidential Office by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuoyu (董國猷) 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 John C.C. Deng (鄧振中).