President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of January 30 concluded an overseas trip to attend the inauguration of Honduran President-elect Juan Orlando Hernandez and visit the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe as well as Burkina Faso. Shortly after his arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the president delivered remarks, explaining the achievements and fruits of this trip.
In remarks, President Ma commented that this was his ninth trip overseas since he took office in 2008. In addition to being invited to make a state visit to one of the ROC's diplomatic partners in West Africa, Sao Tome and Principe, the president also attended the inauguration of Honduras' new president, another ally in Central America, and visited the ROC's African ally of Burkina Faso.
President Ma stated that after departing Taiwan, the chartered aircraft flew over Russian airspace and made a stop in Frankfurt, Germany for refueling. As this flight path was decided based on convenience and saving time, the president expressed hope that the routing will not be over-analyzed. However, he added, these arrangements also signified that the ROC has quite a few friends in the international arena, which is enabling the ROC "to step out."
As for solidifying the ROC's alliances, the president stated that Sao Tome and Principe President Manuel Pinto da Costa, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, and the new president of Honduras Hernandez all personally received President Ma at respective airports on his arrival. He said that he then exchanged opinions with his counterparts on the development of bilateral relations. He noted that all of his counterparts also expressed willingness to continue to support meaningful participation for the ROC in international organizations and activities.
President Ma remarked that he and his delegation received an enthusiastic welcome from the people of the countries they visited. He specifically mentioned that attending the inauguration of the new Honduran president left the deepest impression on him. The master of ceremonies, he said, told the public that the ROC is a democratic and economically prosperous nation and that it has a longstanding history of providing support to Honduras. President Ma noted that when he and the members of his delegation entered the stadium, they received an especially warm reception from the crowd, which was on par with that received by Crown Price Felipe of Spain. This shows the deep emotion that the people of Honduras have for the ROC, the president said.
As for the topic of "transit diplomacy," President Ma explained that his delegation stopped over in Los Angeles for about 24 hours. During that time, he spoke over the phone with 20 US senators, congressmen, important political figures, and retired officials, including former US President Bill Clinton, former Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice, and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Also during the transit stop, he had meals with local entrepreneurs and overseas compatriots, he said. He visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Los Angeles. His visit to the latter marked the first time that an ROC president had visited the association since its founding 120 years ago, the president remarked.
President Ma said that foreign affairs are an extension of domestic affairs. With this in mind, he said, he kept close watch on developments related to various domestic political and economic issues while he was abroad. He specifically noted that the economic monitoring indicator for January flashed the "green" signal, which means that Taiwan's economy is gradually growing. In addition, he mentioned, the Executive Yuan's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics revised upward its GDP growth estimate for last year to 2.19% from an originally forecast of 1.74%, which constitutes an uptick of 0.45 percentage point. Meanwhile, Taiwan's unemployment rate has fallen to 4.08%, which is the lowest in recent years, while growth in the nation's Consumer Price Index has decreased to just 0.79%, which is the lowest among Asia's four little tigers, he said. All of this data prove that Taiwan's economic situation is exhibiting increased stability, the president stated.
President Ma also expressed his gratitude to the Legislative Yuan, which while he was overseas held a special session to approve the reconsideration of an amendment to the Land Administration Agent Act and various amendments to the content of the Act Governing Food Sanitation.
Lastly, the president reiterated his appreciation to all the members of the delegation and the staff for making this journey a successful one. As today (January 30) is Lunar New Year's Eve, President Ma wished all his countrymen a Happy New Year, good luck, safety, as well as peace and prosperity.