President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of June 9 with Professor Jerome A. Cohen, co-director of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute at the New York University School of Law. The president welcomed Professor Cohen to Taiwan and briefed him on the government's achievements with respect to cross-strait relations as well as Taiwan's relations with the United States and Japan.
In remarks, President Ma stated that in late February of this year Taiwan's government, to address the issue of overlapping air defense identification zones of various countries in the region, issued the Statement on East China Sea Airspace Security, urging all parties to resolve disputes in peaceful means. In addition, he said, after Palau suffered damage from Typhoon Haiyan in December 2013, Taiwan dispatched military aircraft to deliver relief goods donated by the government and private organizations here. These actions indicate that Taiwan strives to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, he remarked.
As for cross-strait relations, President Ma noted, this past February Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) of the ROC's Mainland Affairs Council and Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) of mainland China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council held discussions, the first time since the two sides came under separate rule 65 years ago that the heads of the respective offices responsible for cross-strait affairs held discussions and addressed each other by their official titles. The president said this was an important historical milestone in cross-strait interaction.
President Ma also mentioned that a student movement launched in Taiwan in March gained considerable attention. He pointed out that the students and members of the public forced their way into the Legislative Yuan and occupied the legislative chamber for 24 days in a show of dissatisfaction with the legislative review of the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement. The president said that during that period, students also forced their way into the Executive Yuan, resulting in clashes. He stated that the government made a concrete response to the movement, which included agreeing to the enactment of a Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act. In addition, screening of the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement and the Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act could be carried out simultaneously and would not conflict with each other, he said.
President Ma further mentioned that the Legislative Yuan on June 13 convened an extraordinary session to review draft versions of the Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act, the Special Act for Free Economic Pilot Zones, and the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement. The president expressed hope that these bills, which are critical to Taiwan's economy and cross-strait relations, will be quickly passed.
As for relations between Taiwan and the United States, President Ma said, in April of this year Administrator Gina McCarthy of the US Environmental Protection Agency led a delegation to Taiwan. This marked the first time in 14 years that a US Cabinet-level official had visited Taiwan, making that stop extremely significant. Meanwhile, April 10 of this year marked the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act, he noted, adding that the US Congress held activities to celebrate the occasion. The president expressed hope for a continued strengthening of Taiwan-US relations.
President Ma further said that last year Taiwan and the United States resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, and he called for the signing of a bilateral investment agreement, which would spur further growth in Taiwan's external trade. In addition, he remarked, this is the "year of the big push" for Taiwan's economic development. He expressed hope that Taiwan can create the preconditions for it to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
In discussing Taiwan-Japan relations, President Ma said that April 10 of this year marked the one-year anniversary of the signing of a bilateral fisheries agreement that has resolved a 40-year fisheries dispute between the two sides. The agreement has significantly reduced the detention of ships and arrest of fishermen in the disputed area, and has considerably increased catches by Taiwanese fishermen, he stated.
The president also mentioned that mainland China this May established an oil drilling platform in the Paracel Islands, which led to a strong backlash against Chinese people in Vietnam. He pointed out that over 400 Taiwanese companies operating in Vietnam were attacked, with total losses from the destruction of property and looting estimated at some US$500 million. The president noted that the ROC government is actively negotiating with Vietnamese authorities on compensation for the losses.
Lastly, President Ma stressed that in a June 4 statement regarding his thoughts on the 25th anniversary of the June 4th Incident, he called on mainland China to act quickly to restore the good names of those who have been wronged. He said that such action would help to lessen the feeling of "otherness" between people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and would improve cross-strait relations.