President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of October 28 with a visiting delegation from the Committee of 100, a Chinese-American organization from the United States. In addition to welcoming the delegation to Taiwan on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, the president also briefed the visitors on the concrete achievements in Taiwan's efforts to improve its relations with the international community and mainland China.
In remarks, President Ma noted that the Committee of 100 was founded in 1989 to promote development in the United States and Greater China. The president expressed hope that this visit would further enhance relations between Taiwan and the United States.
President Ma stated that in the over five years since he took office his administration has pursued cross-strait reconciliation while also restoring mutual trust at the highest levels in its relations with the United States and Japan. He said that Taiwan is successfully playing the role of peacemaker in the Asia-Pacific region. The president added that relations between Taiwan and the United States are presently the best that they have been since formal diplomatic relations were severed in 1979.
President Ma cited several examples to explain how Taiwan-US relations have improved. He pointed out that former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly stated that Taiwan is an important security and economic partner of the United States. Also, Taiwan became the 37th participant in the US Visa Waiver Program in November of last year, and is the only nation in the initiative that does not have formal diplomatic ties with the United States, he said. President Ma remarked that Taiwan has successfully resolved issues surrounding the import of US beef, and in March of this year the two sides resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. The president also mentioned that in October of this year he asked former Vice President Vincent C. Siew (蕭萬長) to attend the 21st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bali, Indonesia on his behalf, and during the course of the event former Vice President Siew engaged in bilateral discussions with US Secretary of State John F. Kerry. Former Vice President Siew expressed Taiwan's desire to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, he said, adding that the nation is interested in working with other nations in the Pacific region to jointly reduce tariffs and minimize non-tariff barriers. This, he commented, will enable Taiwan to avoid being marginalized in the course of regional economic integration.
President Ma also spoke about the successes Taiwan has had in resolving fisheries disputes with Japan and the Philippines. To resolve the problem of Taiwanese fishermen facing interference when operating around the Diaoyutai Islets, in August of last year he unveiled his East China Sea Peace Initiative, which emphasizes that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared." Taiwan and Japan on April 10 of this year signed a fisheries agreement, he stated, adding that the content of the pact and the method of its implementation do not prejudice either side's sovereignty claims under the law of the sea. President Ma stated that this agreement has enabled Taiwan to achieve its objective of "not ceding an inch on sovereignty, but making great progress in terms of fishing rights." The president also mentioned the Guang Da Xing No. 28 fishing boat shooting incident in May, in which a Taiwanese fishing boat came under fire from a Philippine government vessel, damaging the fishing boat and resulting in the death of a Taiwanese fisherman. President Ma said that negotiators from Taiwan and the Philippines recently concluded a second round of fishing negotiations and have reached a preliminary agreement under which both sides have agreed to avoid unilaterally enforcing laws through the use of force without first notifying the other side of its intentions.
The president emphasized that the ROC is a peace-loving nation which embraces the principle of "using peaceful means to resolve disputes." In particular, he said, "it is not that Taiwan has no military force, but rather that we do not misuse it." The president mentioned that in August of this year he visited ROC allies in South America and the Caribbean. On his way to the region, he made a transit stop in New York City, where he spoke over the phone with senior US administration officials and members of Congress, who expressed concern about the aforementioned situations but also praised Taiwan for its handling of these issues.
As for relations with mainland China, the president stated, he has actively promoted cross-strait scheduled direct flights since taking office. To date, 95 daily flights operate between the two sides and Taiwan carriers serve 54 airports in mainland China. At the same time, the improvement in cross-strait relations has been very well received by the United States. In June of this year, US President Barack Obama and mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) held meetings in California during which President Obama expressed America's strong support for the strengthened relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, President Ma remarked.
The president commented that the two sides still have differences on many issues, but Taiwan hopes the two can shelve disputes, together create win-win situations, and build mutual trust step by step. He also called for the establishment of cross-strait representative offices. In addition, the president stated, while the situation in the Taiwan Strait is increasingly peaceful and stable, Taiwan still cannot neglect the importance of its security, so the nation will continue to acquire arms to protect itself. For instance, the president said, the first P-3C anti-submarine aircraft purchased from the United States recently arrived in Taiwan, and other P-3C anti-submarine aircrafts will arrive here before the end of this year.
Commenting on recent remarks by some that the government here has conceded too much to mainland China, and that the government is "pro-mainland China and selling out Taiwan," President Ma stressed that the government is carrying out its administrative agenda fully in accordance with the ROC Constitution, and is acting in the interest of the nation. Improved cross-strait relations, he said, have also strengthened Taiwan's international relationships. There is a synergy between the two, he added, stressing that this is a virtuous cycle and not a vicious cycle.
President Ma also cited examples of how Taiwan's ties with the world community have improved. For instance, Taiwan has attended the World Health Assembly for five consecutive years as an observer, and in 2008 became a party to the Agreement on Government Procurement. Also, the president noted, the US House of Representatives and Senate have both passed resolutions supporting observer status for Taiwan in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). President Ma said that a representative from Taiwan was invited to attend the ICAO's 38th Assembly in Montreal, Canada in September as a "special guest" of the president of the ICAO Council, and during the assembly US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx thanked Taiwan for attending.
The 17-member delegation from the Committee of 100 was led by Chairman Dominic Ng (吳建民), and included Vice Chairmen Jay Xu (許傑) and Ya-Qin Zhang (張亞勤). The group was escorted on the visit to President Ma by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Joseph Shih (石定). Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添) and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Jacob Chang (張大同).