At 6:00 p.m. on January 26 Honduras time (8:00 a.m. January 27 Taipei time), President Ma Ying-jeou held a reception for members of the traveling press corps accompanying him on his trip to Sao Tome and Principe, Burkina Faso, as well as Honduras.
In remarks, the president stated that this was his ninth overseas trip since taking office in May 2008, adding that during this time his administration has pursued the policies of "viable diplomacy" and "above-board diplomacy." He said that he has visited all of the ROC's 22 diplomatic allies, and the visits have been instrumental in enabling the ROC diplomats on the front line to carry out their work with greater dignity and morale. The president thanked the members of the ROC's diplomatic corps for their hard work and contributions.
On the topic of cross-strait relations, President Ma explained that the ROC government has consistently sought, under the framework of the ROC Constitution, to maintain the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" in the Taiwan Strait, and to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait ties under the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. He said that cross-strait relations are at their most stable and peaceful state in the past 60 years, and during his time in office the two sides have held nine rounds of negotiations and signed 19 agreements, making substantive achievements. For instance, the president pointed out, 24,000 mainland Chinese students are now studying in Taiwan, compared with over 800 prior to his taking office. Also, the number of mainland Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan has risen from an annual 200,000-plus to some three million, he said. At the same time, the president noted, the number of direct flights between the two sides has risen to 95 daily. This frequent interaction has benefited Taiwan's economy and contributed to broader and deeper cross-strait ties. He stated that this progress has made people from both sides realize the importance of cross-strait peace.
President Ma commented that after the Doha round talks came to a standstill, nations throughout the world reverted to pursuing bilateral and regional trade partnerships. He pointed out that over 380 free trade agreements have been signed throughout the world, adding that Taiwan is lagging seriously behind in this area. Consequently, he said, after taking office he actively began promoting the expansion of trade and economic ties with major trading partners. Not only has Taiwan signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with mainland China, its biggest trading partner, but it has also signed a Bilateral Investment Arrangement with Japan, and resumed negotiations with the United States under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, he said. President Ma further pointed out that in July 2013 Taiwan signed the ANZTEC free trade agreement with New Zealand and in November inked the ASTEP free trade agreement with Singapore. All of these developments, he remarked, demonstrate Taiwan's determination to liberalize its trading system and create conditions conducive to joining in regional economic integration. This also shows that Taiwan will not be left out of regional economic integration initiatives such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and that it will not allow itself to be marginalized, the president said.
Turning to the domestic economy, President Ma stated that companies in Taiwan last year posted respectable profits, and for this reason he urged the corporate sector to raise employee salaries. He said that Taiwan's inflation and unemployment rates have been controlled at levels better than those in advanced nations. For instance, Taiwan's inflation rate last year was the lowest among Asia's four tigers, he stated, noting that the nation's unemployment rate in December 2013 had fallen to 4.08%. Also, the president pointed to the Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014 released by the World Economic Forum in September last year. This report ranked Taiwan 12th in economic competitiveness among the 148 countries and economies surveyed, which was one spot higher than the previous year. Nonetheless, he said, the economic growth rate and level of real salaries in Taiwan still fall short of expectations, so he hopes that enterprises will share the fruits of their profitability last year and assist workers by raising salaries, which would help to drive economic growth and enable the people of Taiwan to sense that the economy is growing. President Ma commented that major nations in Asia—such as Japan, Singapore, and Korea—have also encouraged enterprises to raise the salaries of their employees.
The president again stressed that the government will continue working to improve Taiwan's economic and investment environment, but at the same time it hopes that profitable companies will fulfill their social responsibility by caring for the employees. Appropriately allocating profits not only enables employees to enjoy the fruits of a company's operations, but also can boost the dedication of employees to their employer. This year, he said, is a crucial juncture when the entire nation must work together to boost the economy. The government will do its part by leading the initiative, and it hopes the public can enjoy the fruits of economic growth, he stated.
After completing his remarks, the president then exchanged opinions with members of the press on a wide range of topics, including the nation's "viable diplomacy" policy, cross-strait relations, reconsideration of a recent amendment to the Land Administration Agent Act, security around the periphery of the Presidential Office Building, the Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection e-Tag system, and other issues of recent interest.