President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of January 30 with American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond F. Burghardt. During discussions, the president reiterated his hope that negotiations between Taiwan and the United States under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) can be resumed as soon as possible. He said that this platform can be used to promote further expansion of bilateral economic and trade relations.
In remarks, the president stated that this marks Chairman Burghardt's first visit to Taiwan since his inauguration on May 20 of last year. About one week ago, he pointed out, Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) led a delegation from Taiwan to attend the inauguration ceremonies for US President Barack Obama, and Chairman Burghardt provided a warm reception to the group. This demonstrates that the United States places great importance on the relationship between the two countries, he said. The president also took this opportunity to congratulate President Obama on his inauguration to a new term in office. President Ma furthermore stated that President Obama made a trip to Asia shortly after his re-election, which was a concrete display of America's determination to pursue its "rebalance to Asia" policy.
On the topic of Taiwan-US relations, President Ma commented that Taiwan was formally included in the US Visa Waiver Program on November 1 of last year. The United States sent Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco J. Sanchez to Taiwan to attend the reception celebrating this event, the president said. In addition, Taiwan and the United States cooperate closely in fighting against human trafficking, nuclear proliferation, and terrorism, he stated. The president noted that the US administration has indicated publicly on a number of occasions that it will continue to faithfully act in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and the "Six Assurances," which he said is extremely significant to the maintenance of Taiwan's security.
President Ma furthermore stated that the government has already resolved the issue of US beef imports to Taiwan, thus eliminating a hurdle to the resumption of negotiations between the two countries under the TIFA. He also pointed out that Mr. Lien Chan (連戰), his envoy to the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Vladivostok, Russia last year, reached a consensus with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the resumption of negotiations under the TIFA framework. He said that the people of Taiwan have high hopes that this platform can be used to promote bilateral economic and trade relations by taking a "building block" approach to the task.
The president also briefed Chairman Burghardt on the future direction of policy toward mainland China, including broadening and deepening of cross-strait ties, the reciprocal cross-strait establishment of representative offices by Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and mainland China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, and amendment of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area. With respect to the deepening of cross-strait ties, the ROC government not only will ease rules on mainland Chinese investment in Taiwan and participation in financial-sector business activities here, but also will further open Taiwan's doors to mainland Chinese students. As for the opening of representative offices on each side, President Ma said, mainland Chinese tourists have made 7.1 million visits to Taiwan since 2008, which points to the extremely close interaction between the two sides. The reciprocal establishment of offices, he commented, would bolster convenience in this interaction, and is therefore supported by both sides.
President Ma stated that the government strongly hopes to further institutionalize the cross-strait relationship. However, he also pointed out that now is not the right time for discussion of political issues between the two sides, and that the mainland side understands this. Consequently, this will not be emphasized for the time being.
In discussing Taiwan's participation in the international arena, President Ma noted that when Mr. Lien attended the APEC meetings last year on his behalf, he reached a preliminary consensus with representatives from mainland China on Taiwan's participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization. The president expressed hope that concrete progress will be seen on this front this year. The president also said he deeply appreciates America's longstanding support for Taiwan's participation in international organizations and activities, and furthermore called for a continued strengthening of bilateral ties.
Chairman Burghardt first extended President Obama's best wishes to President Ma. He stated that over the past four years, interaction between Taiwan and the United States has been quite good and that cooperation and communication have reached new levels. In addition, this cooperation covers a wide range of areas, with many substantive achievements having been seen, he remarked. Chairman Burghardt specifically pointed to Taiwan's inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program, visits by high-ranking officials from both sides, and frequent visits to Taiwan by members of the US Congress. Chairman Burghardt said he hopes that bilateral cooperation will continue to strengthen in the future, enabling relations between the two sides to reach new plateaus.
The delegation led by Chairman Burghardt included AIT Taipei Office Director Christopher J. Marut, Deputy Director Brent Christensen, Economic Section Chief Alan R. Tousignant, and Political Section Chief Daniel Turnbull. The group visited the Presidential Office in the afternoon to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Secretary-General Jason C. Yuan (袁健生), and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuoyu (董國猷).