President Ma Ying-jeou departed on a trip codenamed Project Congratulations and Friendship at 2:10 p.m. on August 11. Shortly after the plane took off, the president delivered remarks, explaining this trip's prospects.
In remarks, President Ma stated that he is leading a delegation to the ROC's five allies − the Republic of Haiti, the Republic of Paraguay, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Christopher and Nevis. This long-distance journey is scheduled to travel some 42,000 kilometers, which is equivalent to circling the globe once at the Equator plus 2,000 kilometers, he said. Nonetheless, those arranging the trip have overcome a variety of obstacles, he added.
The president mentioned that Paraguay is the ROC's sole diplomatic partner in South America. He noted that five years ago he personally attended the inauguration ceremonies for former President Fernando Lugo Mendez and he has again been invited to attend inauguration for President-elect Horacio Manuel Cartes. President Ma said that he is delighted to have the opportunity to visit Paraguay again.
The president pointed out that the ROC and Haiti established diplomatic relations 57 years ago, but no standing president of the ROC has ever visited that nation. On January 12, 2010, Haiti was devastated by the largest earthquake of its kind. A rescue team from the ROC left for Haiti just 12 hours after the tremor, enabling it to reach the Caribbean nation less than 36 hours after the calamity, he said. He further noted that the following day when he placed a call to the head of the rescue team, he learned that just 15 minutes prior to the call the team had relieved a French national who worked for the United Nations. Subsequently, the rescue team, with the assistance of counterparts from other friendly nations, had successfully saved another seven individuals from the disaster, he said. This marked the first time that a rescue team from the ROC was able to rescue survivors in another nation after an earthquake, the president stated.
In an effort to show the nation's concern for the post-reconstruction work in Haiti, President Ma noted, at the end of January 2010 after attending the inauguration of Republic of Honduras President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, he flew to the Dominican Republic and met with then Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. The leaders discussed a project to assist Haiti to recover from the quake, he said. On the charter that he and his delegation took during that trip, the president mentioned, he assembled heads of related government agencies during their return to Taiwan to discuss various assistance projects, including agriculture, public healthcare and hygiene, vocational training, and the construction of permanent dwellings. Meanwhile, he commented, as the earthquake in Haiti left hundreds of thousands of orphans, his wife, First Lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青), in August 2010, in her capacities as love ambassador of World Vision Taiwan and honorary president of the Red Cross Society of the ROC (Taiwan) paid a visit to these children there. President Ma expressed hope that on this visit to Haiti, he will again be able to express the concern of the ROC's government and people to Haiti.
With respect to relations between the ROC and three Caribbean allies − St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Christopher and Nevis, President Ma mentioned, the ROC and St. Christopher and Nevis established diplomatic relations in 1983, the year the nation was founded. He added that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the creation of bilateral ties, making the visit there all the more meaningful. In addition, he said, the ROC and St. Vincent and the Grenadines established formal diplomatic ties on August 15, 1981, with this year marking the 32nd year of the bilateral relationship. President Ma pointed out that the ROC and St. Lucia re-established diplomatic ties in 2008. These three countries are important allies of the ROC in the Caribbean, he said, explaining that the visits to these countries will lead to a better understanding of the state of bilateral cooperation projects between the ROC and these nations.
Looking forward, the president pointed out that this trip marks his eighth visit overseas since taking office in 2008, enabling him to have visited 22 of the ROC's allies. He said that the only ally he has not visited will be Sao Tome and Principe in West Africa, expressing hope to have the opportunity to visit that nation in the future.
President Ma further explained that the "viable diplomacy" strategy adopted by the ROC is not only to passively eliminate the contention between Taiwan and mainland China in the international community, but also to actively solidify the ROC's alliances with its diplomatic partners and enhance its relationship with countries with which it doesn't maintain diplomatic ties. The president said that the many efforts of the government have yielded considerable achievements in this respect, specifically noting that 133 nations and areas around the world now offer visa-free courtesies or landing visas to ROC nationals.
Lastly, President Ma stressed again that a pillar of the "viable diplomacy" policy focuses on "above-board diplomacy." Consequently, the promotion of the ROC's foreign assistance must comply with the principle of "seeking proper goals, acting lawfully, and exercising effective administration." In the future, he said, the ROC will continue to fulfill its responsibility, as an emerging industrialized nation, in providing foreign assistance. These efforts, he stated, will help to solidify the nation's alliances and enable the ROC to exist in the international community with dignity.