President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of April 23 with a delegation from the Czech Chamber of Deputies' Czech Republic-Taiwan Friendship Group. The president welcomed the Czech parliamentarians and called for continued promotion of cooperation and interaction between the two sides, thereby leading to a further enhancement of bilateral relations.
In remarks, the president stated that both the ROC and the Czech Republic share many common values, including a love of freedom and peace, and an emphasis on human rights and the rule of law. He noted that since 2008 the two countries have signed MOUs for cooperation in a variety of fields, including e-government, information exchange, intellectual property rights, and technology. At the same time, the president stated, Taiwan and the Czech Republic have jointly donated solar energy monitoring systems to Burkina Faso, which highlights the close cooperative relationship between the two. In addition, President Ma remarked, since ROC nationals were granted visa-free entry to Schengen area two years ago, two-way travel has increased as economic and trade ties have grown, which he is especially pleased to see.
President Ma further stated that the ROC is a peace-loving nation. Consequently, last year when the sovereignty dispute over the Diaoyutai Islets came to the fore, Taiwan in August unveiled its East China Sea Peace Initiative, urging all parties involved to resolve the controversy in a peaceful manner. Subsequently, he said, Taiwan and Japan in November held another round of fishing negotiations and on April 10 of this year signed a fisheries agreement that allows for the fishermen of both countries to operate in joint conservation and management areas. This will significantly reduce the controversy, he commented, adding that this concrete action exhibits the peace-loving nature of Taiwan and its intention to promote international cooperation. The area in which Taiwanese fishermen will be allowed to fish under the agreement is double the size of Taiwan, the president said. This agreement is extremely important to both nations, since it will promote peace and also creates opportunities for both sides to jointly take advantage of the marine resources in the area, he mentioned.
In discussing Taiwan's participation in the international community, the president expressed his appreciation to the visitors for supporting participation for Taiwan in the World Health Assembly. In addition, he pointed out, over 10 international aviation routes traverse the skies over Taiwan, and more than one million flights fly these routes each year, making aviation safety extremely important. However, said the president, Taiwan has been unable to promptly obtain information from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) when it requires it. The president stressed the benefit for all parties in having Taiwan participate in aviation security-related organizations, and therefore called on the Czech parliamentarians to continue supporting participation for Taiwan in the ICAO. At the same time, he sought their continued support for meaningful participation for Taiwan in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international organizations and activities.
The delegation included Deputy Chairman Jan Vidim of the Civic Democratic Party's Caucus in the Chamber of Deputies, Chamber of Deputies Foreign Affairs Committee Member Jana Fischerova, Health Committee Member Pavel Antonin, and Social Policy and Petitions Committee Member Roman Sklenak. The group was headed by Chairman Marek Benda of the Czech Chamber of Deputies' Czech Republic-Taiwan Friendship Group (Chairman of the Civic Democratic Party). The group of parliamentarians was escorted to the Presidential Office by Czech Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan Representative Juraj Koudelka to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊), and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Joseph Shih (石定).