On the evening of February 20, President Ma Ying-jeou and Mrs. Ma attended a banquet held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for all the ambassadors and representatives from foreign countries stationed in Taiwan. The annual banquet is held each year shortly after the beginning of the Lunar New Year. President Ma briefed guests the ROC's achievements over the past several years in advancing its foreign affairs agenda, participating in the international community, and improving cross-strait relations. He also extended season's greetings to the guests and said he hopes this year will be a healthy and prosperous one.
In remarks, the president stated that in the four-plus years that he has been in office, the ROC's alliances with its 23 diplomatic partners have remained quite steady, while its substantive relationships with other countries such as the United States, Japan, some Asia-Pacific nations, and European Union members, have improved thanks to the joint efforts of many sectors here and overseas. At the same time, the ROC continues to participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA) via observer status, and it dispatched an envoy to attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Vladivostok, Russia last year, he noted. The president remarked that these developments indicate that the ROC has seen concrete progress in its participation in the international community.
President Ma stated that in April of last year he visited three diplomatic allies of the ROC in Africa—Burkina Faso, the Republic of The Gambia, and the Kingdom of Swaziland. During the trip, he said, he sensed strong support for the ROC in these three nations, and saw first hand the close cooperative relationships that the ROC maintains with each of these countries. President Ma also expressed his deepest appreciation for the longstanding efforts by both diplomatic allies and non-diplomatic partners in speaking on behalf of the ROC at international venues and supporting the ROC's efforts to participate in the WHA, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The president mentioned that at present 131 jurisdictions throughout the world provide visa-free courtesies or landing visas to ROC nationals. These places represent 98% of the countries or areas most frequently visited by ROC citizens, he said, adding that developments on this front have provided more convenience for ROC citizens traveling overseas.
President Ma emphasized that the government is working to expand Taiwan's participation in the international community, and also is actively seeking to improve the relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The government, he said, continues to resolutely embrace improvement in these ties under the framework of the ROC Constitution, maintaining the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force." In addition, the development of cross-strait peace will continue to be promoted based on the "1992 Consensus," he commented. The president expressed his belief that the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and the continued expansion of the ROC's relations with the international community are not in conflict with each other. He said that the work carried out by the government over the long term has helped to turn what was a vicious cycle into a virtuous cycle.
Regarding the dispute in the East China Sea, President Ma reiterated that the ROC is a peace-loving nation that has consistently advocated the resolution of international disputes via peaceful means. He called on all parties involved to emulate the model of European nations in handling the sovereignty dispute over oil fields in the North Sea, where disputes were shelved in favor of joint development. This, he said, will enable all parties involved to take advantage of the resources in the area and bring benefits to respective nations and their people.
Upon completing his remarks, President Ma then raised his glass to congratulate the guests and wish them a Happy New Year. Among those attending the event were Vice President Wu Den-yi and Mrs. Wu, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and Mrs. Jiang, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin (林永樂) and Mrs. Lin, Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-Yuan (李鴻源) and Mrs. Lee, Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-Fu (曾勇夫) and Mrs. Tseng, Burkina Faso Ambassador to the ROC Jacques Y. Sawadogo, who is the head of the foreign diplomatic corps in the ROC, and Mrs. Sawadogo, and other ambassadors, diplomatic envoys, and representatives stationed in the ROC.