President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of June 26 with a joint delegation from the US International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI). In addition to briefing his guests on the successes of the government's efforts in recent years to improve Taiwan's relations with mainland China, Japan, and the United States, the president also called for the two sides to continue to strengthen their cooperation and interaction, thereby adding further depth to the bilateral relationship.
The president first stated that over 20 years ago, when he was responsible for promoting international affairs of the ruling Kuomintang, the IRI and NDI had only just been established. President Ma said that he previously had the good fortune to meet some of the members of today's today and that he is pleased to see these individuals again.
President Ma stated that Constance Berry Newman, the leader of the delegation, previously served as the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and was also the Assistant Administrator for Africa at the US Agency for International Development. She has a well-rounded background in international affairs, said the president, adding that in fact all of those in delegation have abundant experience in international affairs. He expressed hope that this trip will help the IRI and NDI to forge even closer relations with Taiwan's government and political parties.
The president stated that a number of changes have taken place in East Asia over the past year. Changes have been seen in the senior leadership of mainland China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Furthermore, while there have been considerable tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the ROC continues to enjoy peace and stability. Consequently, the Taiwan Strait has changed from a battlefield to a place that features a high degree of trade activity.
On the subject of cross-strait relations, the president noted that he has strived to improve relations since taking office in 2008, and the two sides have thus far signed 19 agreements and reached two points of consensus. In addition, there are 86 scheduled flights between the two sides each day. Each year some eight million people travel across the Taiwan Strait, and the value of trade in goods and services has reached US$160 billion. All these statistics show that cross-strait relations are at their most stable and peaceful state in the past 60 years.
President Ma mentioned that the US Department of Homeland Security on October 2 of last year formally announced that it would include Taiwan in the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Taiwan's formal entry into the program took place on November 1, 2012. Taiwan became the 37th participating nation in the US VWP, he said, and the only nation in the program with which the United States does not maintain formal diplomatic relations. The president commented that in the wake of Taiwan's entry into the program, interaction between the two countries on a wide variety of fronts will undoubtedly continue to grow and bilateral ties will become closer.
The president stated that starting from two years ago, a number of high-ranking US government officials and influential members of the House of Representatives and the Senate have visited Taiwan, including Administrator Rajiv Shah of the US Agency for International Development, Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel B. Poneman, Under Secretary Francisco Sanchez for International Trade at the US Department of Commerce, and Deputy US Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis. These visits signify a significant improvement in relations between Taiwan and the United States. In addition, last month US President Barack Obama and mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) held talks, during which President Obama said that "the US government strongly supports efforts by Taiwan and mainland China to improve cross-strait relations in recent years, and hopes both sides will continue to progress in the same manner." President Ma commented that this proves that the strengthening of cross-strait relations has helped the ROC expand its international relations.
The president then turned the topic to relations between Taiwan and Japan. He explained to the visitors that the two countries in last November started another round of fishing negotiations, which ultimately led to the signing of a fisheries agreement on April 10 this year. This pact has resolved a 40-year dispute between the two sides, and enables fishermen from both sides to operate in a designated area that is double the size of Taiwan. In addition, the operations of fishermen from one side are not subject to the laws of the other side, he noted. Furthermore, fishermen from Taiwan can now fish unhindered in traditional fishing grounds where they have operated for 100 years. President Ma remarked that this agreement dovetails with the spirit of the East China Sea Peace Initiative that he unveiled last August, and also marks the first time that the concepts put forward in the initiative have actually been acted upon.
The president then mentioned the Guang Da Xing No. 28 shooting incident of May 9, in which a Philippine government vessel sprayed a Taiwanese fishing boat with automatic fire in economic waters south of Taiwan, resulting in the unfortunate death of a Taiwanese fisherman. The president stressed that the government has held a steadfast position on this incident since the start, acting in a reasonable manner and adopting tough measures in response. He said that the ROC made four demands of the Philippines, namely: to offer a formal apology, to provide compensation for the losses; to promptly and thoroughly investigate the incident and severely punish those responsible for the killing; and to initiate fishery negotiations between the two countries as soon as possible. President Ma remarked that the ROC is waiting for the Philippines to respond positively to the demands, after which it will decide whether to rescind the sanctions that have been put in place against the Philippines.
President Ma stated that former US President Ronald Reagan in an address in 1982 stated that "the march of freedom and democracy ... will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history." These words, he said, resonated with many people. The US Congress one year later in 1983 passed funding to establish the National Endowment for Democracy for the promotion of democracy overseas via US political parties and other avenues. At the time, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party each established international affairs institutes. Similarly, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy was established here with a mission that had much in common with that of the IRI and the NDI, turning to supra-party means to provide political parties with an opportunity to participate in international exchanges and promote the development of democracy. President Ma expressed hope that this visit by the delegation would be beneficial to the continued strengthening of cooperation and interaction between the two sides, and would ultimately help to add depth to relations between Taiwan and the United States.
The delegation included IRI Board Member Alison B. Fortier and NDI Board Members Sam Gejdenson and Robin Carnahan. The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Gary Song-Huann Lin (林松煥) to meet with President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Secretary-General Jason C. Yuan (袁健生).