President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of March 25 with a US Congressional delegation from the House of Representatives. In addition to extending a cordial welcome to the visitors on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, the president also called for continued strengthening of bilateral cooperation and interaction to further enhance the relationship between Taiwan and the United States.
The eight-member delegation included Representative Gregg Harper and Mrs. Harper, Representative Tim Walberg and Mrs. Walberg, and Representative John C. Fleming and Mrs. Fleming.
In opening remarks, the president said he was deeply touched by the decision by the members of the delegation to visit Taiwan so soon after spending four consecutive weeks holding important meetings to screen the US budget. In addition, the president pointed out that Representative and Mrs. Harper first visited Taiwan in November 2010, which coincided with the opening activities of the Taipei International Flora Exposition. He expressed his belief that the vitality of Taiwan's democracy and culture will surely have impressed them favorably during that visit. Since returning to the United States, he noted, Representative Harper has supported a variety of policies favorable to the ROC, and now is leading the current delegation on a visit here.
President Ma pointed out that in the past two years a number of senior American officials and heavyweight Congressional delegations have made visits to Taiwan, including Administrator Rajiv Shah of the US Agency for International Development, Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel B. Poneman, and Under Secretary Francisco Sanchez for International Trade at the US Department of Commerce. Furthermore, Deputy US Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis led a delegation to Taiwan earlier this month to hold negotiations associated with the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), the president said. All of these visits and meetings mark an excellent start toward further solidifying the cooperative trade and economic relationship between the two countries, and they highlight the fact that relations between Taiwan and the United States have already seen significant improvement, the president commented.
With respect to trade and economic issues between the two countries, the president mentioned that in July of last year Taiwan amended laws that paved the way for it to open its doors to imports of US beef. President Ma cited statistics showing that imports of US beef in both October and November of last year exceeded 3,000 tons, which is similar to the levels imported before restrictions were imposed. The president acknowledged that although this issue generated a considerable amount of debate here, the resolution shows Taiwan's determination to pursue trade liberalization.
The president pointed out that Taiwan on November 1 last year formally became the 37th country to be included in the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and the only nation in the program that does not have formal diplomatic relations with the United States. The president cited data indicating that each year ROC nationals make over 400,000 visits to the United States. Now that Taiwan has been admitted to the VWP, ROC nationals will be able to save on visa fees, and application procedures have been streamlined, he said. President Ma expressed confidence that the number of ROC nationals visiting the United States will consequently increase. This will result in increased spending in the United States, further expand bilateral ties on many fronts, and bring increasingly close relations, he remarked.
President Ma also addressed the recent sovereignty dispute in the East China Sea over the Diaoyutai Islets. He reiterated that the Diaoyutais are inherent territory of the ROC and appurtenant to Taiwan. The president stated that although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared, and he unveiled his East China Sea Peace Initiative in the hope that negotiation and dialogue can be used to mitigate possible conflicts. He expressed the willingness of the ROC to shelve the dispute, so long as the other parties involved do the same, and carry out joint development of resources in the area. He said that this would help ensure the peace and stability of seas in the area.
The president concluded his remarks by stressing that the ROC and the United States are both freedom- and peace-loving nations. He noted that cooperation between the two sides has continued to develop in recent years, and he called for continued cooperation to help the two countries both to move forward.
The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Director Christopher J. Marut of the American Institute in Taiwan Taipei Office 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 Simon Shen-Yeaw Ko (柯森耀).