President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of April 1 with Dr. Richard C. Bush, director of the Brookings Institution's Center for East Asia Policy Studies and holder of the Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies. The president explained the recent developments in relations between Taiwan and the United States, as well as his views on the recent student movement against the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement.
In remarks, President Ma stated that Dr. Bush is an expert in Washington DC political circles on the trilateral relationship between the United States, Taiwan, and mainland China. Furthermore, he is a prolific writer whose views are closely monitored by many parties, the president said. In September of last year, the Brookings Institution announced the establishment of the Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies, and Dr. Bush was named the inaugural holder of the chair, he noted. This indicates the important role he plays in the study of relationship between Taiwan, the United States, and mainland China, remarked the president.
As for cross-strait relations, President Ma stated, in just one more month he will have served as president for six years. During this period, cross-strait relations have moved steadily forward. The two sides have signed 21 agreements, and the number of cross-strait flights has risen from a handful of charter flights to 118 scheduled flights daily, he said. The number of visits to Taiwan by mainland Chinese has grown from 290,000 prior to his taking office to nearly 3 million last year, a rise of 10-fold. At the same time, the number of mainland Chinese students studying in Taiwan has grown 30-fold from 823 to over 24,000 over the same period, he noted, which highlights the increasingly close people-to-people ties. President Ma also commented that in mid-February this year Minister Wang Yu-Chi (王郁琦) of the Executive Yuan's Mainland Affairs Council met with mainland China's Minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) in Nanjing. This marked the first time in 65 years that the top officials for cross-strait affairs from the two sides formally met, making this event especially significant, the president said.
President Ma further stated that besides working to achieve peace between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the government is also promoting peace in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Taiwan and Japan have signed a fisheries agreement that has been in effect for nearly one year now and resolved a 40-year fishing dispute in the waters around the Diaoyutai Islets, he said. The agreement has sharply reduced the number of vessels detained and people arrested in the area, the president stated. He added that this also marks the first time in many years that fishermen from Taiwan and Okinawa have been able to fish in the same fishing grounds without interference. President Ma also mentioned that Taiwan and the Philippines have reached a consensus in the wake of the Guang Da Xing No. 28 fishing boat incident in which a Philippine government vessel fired on a Taiwanese fishing boat, damaging the boat and killing a fisherman. In August of last year, the Philippines sent an envoy to Taiwan to apologize to the family of the deceased fisherman. In addition, the Philippines agreed to pay compensation, the president said. Also, he noted that not long ago the Philippine government brought homicide charges against eight coast guard officers in connection with the incident. President Ma said that Taiwan and the Philippines have also reached a consensus to "refrain from using force in law enforcement actions, to notify each other prior to such actions, and to promptly release detained fishing vessels and crews in case of arrest" in handling similar incidents in the future. This, he commented, corresponds to the spirit of Article 74 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The president then discussed efforts by the ROC to provide humanitarian aid in the international community. He stated that three years ago after Japan was devastated by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, Taiwan made more donations to the relief effort than any other nation. Meanwhile, after parts of the Philippines were ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan in November of last year, military aircraft and vessels from Taiwan were dispatched to deliver around 680 tons of goods to the disaster areas. Both of these gestures show that Taiwan is sparing no effort to provide humanitarian assistance, he said.
The president stated that relations between Taiwan and the United States continue to move forward. For instance, since the end of last year P-3C Orion anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft and AH-64E Apache helicopters purchased from the United States are now being delivered. In addition, he pointed out, the two sides resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in March 2013, and a second round of negotiations will be held this month. The president remarked that these developments demonstrate the close and friendly relationship between the two countries in the areas of security, economic, and trade ties.
President Ma also specially mentioned that US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kin Moy, in testimony before Congress, publicly recognized the importance of the Taiwan Relations Act to relations between the two countries over the past 35 years. In addition, the president commented, American executive agencies regularly mention the "Six Assurances" that the US made to Taiwan in the wake of the August 17, 1982 US-mainland China Joint Communiqué. President Ma indicated that this shows the sincerity and determination of the United States to fulfill its commitments. Furthermore, he said, Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) of the House of Representative Committee on Foreign Affairs just last month demonstrated the goodwill of the United States in a hearing on "The Promise of the Taiwan Relations Act" that further showed the support of the United States for Taiwan, he remarked.
President Ma said Taiwan is actively promoting economic liberalization and is striving to sign free trade agreements with other countries. He pointed out that last year Taiwan signed the ANZTEC economic cooperation agreement with New Zealand and the ASTEP economic partnership agreement with Singapore, and he further expressed hope that Taiwan can join the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. He stated that after the signing of the ANZTEC agreement last year, total bilateral trade between Taiwan and New Zealand grew 73%, with New Zealand's exports to Taiwan rising 37% and Taiwan's exports to New Zealand increasing 120%. The economic benefits of this deal have been extremely clear, he said.
The president then addressed the recent student movement against the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement, then in its 14th day since students occupied the Legislative Yuan chamber on March 18. He said that students and members of the public have not only occupied the legislature, but also on March 23, with the goal of paralyzing the Executive Yuan, occupied the Executive Yuan building for nearly nine hours. During this action, a small number of individuals entered offices by breaking doors and windows, destroying public property, he stated. President Ma said the police, in accordance with the law, forcibly evicted the group from the building, which resulted in minor injuries to members of the public and the police.
The president stressed that the ROC is a democratic nation and respects and protects the right to peaceful assembly and marches. However, he said, no democratic nation in the world permits the destruction of public property, the forceful occupation of offices, and obstruction of official business. Such instances are handled in accordance with the law, he noted, adding that this is especially true for the occupation of legislative chambers or the highest administrative agencies.
President Ma stated that while illegal acts should be handled in accordance with the law, he still respects the demands of the students. He pointed out that he held international press conferences on March 23 and March 29 to explain the government's stance and attitude on the issue. He said he also responded to the demands of the students, specially noting that the press conference on March 29 was 75 minutes long and that he took some 20 questions from journalists.
President Ma also mentioned that the Kuomintang's legislative caucus has already agreed to return the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement to committee for article-by-article deliberations. This, he said, was the main demand issued by the students when they occupied the Legislative Yuan on March 18, at which time they said that the lack of article-by-article deliberations on the agreement was a violation of due process. In addition, the president remarked, the Executive Yuan will establish an oversight mechanism for cross-strait agreements, and is expected to approve draft legislation to govern such a mechanism at its weekly Cabinet meeting on Thursday, after which the draft will be delivered to the Legislative Yuan for deliberations. In addition, the Executive Yuan is considering the possibility of holding a national conference on economic and trade affairs, to which it would invite representatives from a broad range of industries and sectors to discuss the economic and trade challenges presently facing Taiwan, he said.
President Ma stated that on March 22, the day that the students publicly expressed their hope to engage in dialogue with him, he asked Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) to first contact the students. According to the president, the students then sought a commitment from the government that it would withdraw the services agreement, otherwise they would not engage in a dialogue with the government. He said that over the past week, he has on seven occasions clearly expressed willingness to engage in open dialogue with the students so long as there are no pre-conditions, in an effort to resolve issues about which people have expressed concern.
President Ma again stressed that Taiwan is facing serious economic and trade challenges. If it does not take advantage of opportunities and rapidly join in the process of economic integration, Taiwan's economic and trade regime will lag behind those of other nations, generating even more unemployment among young people. The Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement, he said, was signed in June 2013, meaning that nine months have passed with hardly any progress in deliberations. Many foreign companies in Taiwan are concerned about this situation, he remarked, adding that if things are not handled appropriately, this will "impact the development of Taiwan's service industry, put a drag on our economy, and affect Taiwan's international credibility." Consequently, he said, the government will not withdraw this agreement.
President Ma acknowledged that a large number of people participated in the peaceful protest initiated by the students on March 30, and that the protest was peaceful and orderly, disbanding at 7:00 p.m. This, he commented, clearly demonstrates the public's civil nature and understanding of democracy. President Ma applauded the public for how it handled itself, but said that the issue of the services agreement must be resolved in the legislative chamber and not through forcible occupation of the legislature. Besides being passionate about solving this issue, people must also be of a calm mind, he said. President Ma expressed his desire for a quick resumption of deliberations on the services agreement in the Legislative Yuan, and for the pact to be voted on article by article. This, he said, will be the most fundamental and crucial way to resolve the problem.
Prior to President Ma's remarks, Dr. Bush commented that he watched the press conference held by the president on March 29. He said he applauds the conciliatory way the president clearly explained the government's position on these matters. He also urged that the government establish a platform for communication with the students in order to bring this incident to a close as soon as possible.