President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of July 5 with a delegation led by University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Chancellor Gene Block and Mrs. Block. In addition to explaining successes achieved by the government in recent years in improving relations with the United States and mainland China, the president also called for continued strengthening of cooperation and interaction between the ROC and the United States, thereby adding further depth to the bilateral relationship.
In remarks, the president first pointed out that Taiwan has long been an important source of overseas students studying in the United States. For instance, there were 35,000 Taiwanese students in the United States in 1991-1992, or 8.5% of all foreign students in that nation, making Taiwan the third largest source of foreign students. President Ma said that while the number of local students deciding to study in Europe, the UK, Canada, and other nations has increased in recent years, the majority of students here seeking to study abroad still go to the United States.
In 2009-2010, the president noted, there were nearly 27,000 Taiwanese students in the United States, or 3.9% of all foreign students, and Taiwan ranked as the fifth largest source of foreign students there. In addition, he said, about 32,000 people from Taiwan applied in 2011 for student visas to study abroad, with about 50% of those individuals heading to the United States. Moreover, the president noted, in 2009 some 6,600 of Taiwanese students went to schools in California, making it the most popular destination for students from Taiwan. And students from Taiwan accounted for 7% of all foreign students studying in California, he commented. President Ma stated that these data show the close nature of academic ties between Taiwan and the United States.
In mentioning Taiwan's relationship with UCLA in particular, the president stated that over 30 professors at UCLA hail from Taiwan, including Professor M. C. Frank Chang (張懋中) of the Electrical Engineering Department, who is one of four Academia Sinica academicians that teach at UCLA, and two members of the US National Academy of Engineering. In addition, he said, over 60 researchers at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center have Taiwanese backgrounds, which also highlights the solid ties between the UCLA and Taiwan medical communities.
President Ma stated that the Executive Yuan's National Science Council (NSC) in recent years has promoted the New Partnership Program for the Connection to the Top Labs in the World to help young researchers study in prestigious research institutions overseas. He added that the Ministry of Education also provides scholarships and public funding to deserving students, with many of these students specifically indicating their interest in studying at UCLA. At present, nearly 130 Ph.D. candidates from Taiwan are studying at UCLA, and southern California is now home to over 300,000 immigrants from Taiwan involved in all professions and trades. This proves the importance of UCLA over the years as a cooperative partner with Taiwan, he commented.
The president also noted that the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies in 2008 introduced its "New Directions in Taiwan Studies" program. The results of this initiative have been extremely positive, and the president expressed his deepest appreciation for UCLA's commitment in this regard. He also said that Taiwan's Ministry of Culture and the Center will jointly hold a program entitled "Spotlight Taiwan" to promote Taiwan cinema, arts, and culture in Los Angeles, which is the world's movie capital, he commented.
In discussing relations between Taiwan and the United States, President Ma explained to the visitors that since taking office in 2008 he has worked hard to restore mutual trust at the highest levels between Taiwan and the United States, and to foster positive relationships between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and between Taiwan and the United States. He noted that a number of senior officials from the US government and heavyweight congressional delegations have visited Taiwan over the past two years, adding that relations between Taiwan and the United States are presently at their best since formal diplomatic ties were severed in 1979. The president also said that Taiwan on November 1 of last year formally became the 37th participating nation in the US Visa Waiver Program, and the only nation in the program with which the United States does not maintain formal diplomatic relations. He expressed confidence that ties will continue to expand in the wake of Taiwan's entry into the program, saying that this will pave the way to closer bilateral relations.
President Ma further explained that Taiwan and mainland China on June 21 this year signed the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement. To date, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have signed 19 agreements, which highlights the increasingly close ties between the two sides, he said. In addition, last month US President Barack Obama, when meeting with mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平), said that "the United States 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." This proves, said President Ma, that stronger cross-strait ties help the ROC expand relationships in the international community.
The president also stated that in April of this year during a video conference with Stanford University he specially stressed that the ROC government will continue to pursue cross-strait peace and prosperity as well as a further improvement in Taiwan-US relations.
The president ended his remarks by stressing that the UCLA is one of the premier academic institutions in the United States and that Chancellor Block has a distinguished position in the academic community and considerable influence. He expressed hope that this visit to Taiwan will generate more opportunities for cooperation in higher education and more exchange of high-tech talent, thereby adding further depth to the relationship.
Chancellor Block's delegation included Interim Vice Provost for International Studies C. Cindy Fan (范芝芬) and Professor Shu-mei Shih (史書美) of the Comparative Literature Department. The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office by NSC Deputy Minister Y. Henry Sun (孫以瀚) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Gary Song-Huann Lin (林松煥) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧) and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General John C. C. Deng (鄧振中).