During a meeting on the morning of December 13 with a delegation of four permanent representatives to the United Nations (UN) from four ROC allies, President Ma Ying-jeou expressed his gratitude to these allies for their longstanding efforts in speaking on behalf of the ROC at the UN. He also expressed his hope that they will continue to support the ROC's efforts to participate in the activities of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
In remarks, the president commented that the ROC lost its representation in the UN in 1971 due to Resolution 2758. Despite that, however, Articles 23 and 110 of the Charter of the United Nations still retain the ROC name in provisions related to the Security Council and ratification procedures. In addition, Article 141 of the ROC Constitution emphasizes that the ROC's foreign policy shall respect treaties and the UN Charter, which, he said, signifies that the ROC as a practical matter still respects and implements the UN Charter.
The president stated that since taking office over four years ago he has sought to win more opportunities for the ROC to participate in international organizations and activities, and to improve the cross-strait relationship. Efforts in these two areas form a virtuous cycle, he mentioned, pointing to the fact that Taiwan has attended the World Health Assembly as an observer each year since 2009 and has joined the Agreement on Government Procurement. Taiwan also has been able to maintain non-official contact with other international organizations, he said. President Ma stressed that these developments do not mean that Taiwan and mainland China have resolved all of their differences. Rather, the two sides have shelved their differences and instead pursue the resolution of more pressing issues, he said. This strategy of "shelving disputes and together creating win-win solutions" has yielded significant benefits over the past four years, he noted.
President Ma furthermore explained that the government's policy is to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait under the principle of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force," and in accordance with the framework of the ROC Constitution. The president added that cross-strait peace will be pursued on the basis of the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. President Ma said that the Taiwan public supports and has reached a consensus on this policy.
President Ma stated that in the wake of Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly, the nation hopes to be able to participate in ICAO and UNFCCC activities. He cited the ICAO as an example, stating that this organization was founded in 1944 under the Chicago Convention. At the time, the ROC was a founding member of the body, he said, but lost its position in the ICAO after losing its representation in the UN. The president pointed out that each year over one million flights move through Taiwan's airspace along 14 international aviation routes, and in the course of these flights Taiwan provides nearly 1.5 million flight safety messages and other types of assistance. President Ma said that Taiwan's inability to participate in the ICAO despite having such busy air corridors is not conducive to international civil aviation safety. He noted that the US Congress and the European Parliament have both passed resolutions supporting participation for Taiwan in the ICAO, adding that in September of this year when Mr. Lien Chan (連戰) attended the APEC meetings on his behalf, Mr. Lien met with mainland Chinese leader Hu Jintao to exchange views. During this meeting, Mr. Hu expressed his willingness to find a viable method for Taiwan's participation in the ICAO, he said, which again indicates that the improvement in cross-strait relations clearly provides substantive benefits to Taiwan with regard to its participation in the international community.
President Ma also stressed that when Taiwan's international participation gives the people of Taiwan more confidence in the global community, we have an even greater willingness to further enhance cross-strait relations. Last year, he commented, Taiwan and mainland China engaged in bilateral trade valued at over US$100 billion. In the future, Taiwan will continue to strengthen and expand its ties with mainland China, he said. Consequently, Taiwan is not opposed to its allies engaging in unofficial trade and economic relations with mainland China. However, the alliances and cooperative relationships between the ROC and its allies should continue to be strengthened, he stated.
The members of the visiting delegation included Ambassador Collin D. Beck and Mrs. Beck from the Solomon Islands, Ambassador Der Kogda and Mrs. Kogda from Burkina Faso, Ambassador Menissa Rambally and Mr. Rambally from Saint Lucia, and Ambassador Amatlain Elizabeth Kabua from the Marshall Islands. The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平) 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 Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊).