After a journey of over 20 hours, which included a brief refueling stop in Honolulu, President Ma Ying-jeou and his delegation arrived at Panama Pacific International Airport in Panama at 9:30 a.m. on June 30 Panama time (10:30 p.m. June 30 Taipei time). President Ma was overseas to attend the inauguration of Panamanian President-elect Juan Carlos Varela and visit El Salvador.
After the president's plane came to a halt on the tarmac, ROC Ambassador to Panama Diego L. Chou (周麟) and Panama's Chief of Protocol Miguel Lecaro boarded the aircraft to welcome the president. In addition, Panama's Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Alvarez De Soto was waiting next to the stairs leading to the plane to welcome him. Minister Alvarez De Soto escorted President Ma along a red carpet, where they were saluted by Panama's color guard, and Minister Alvarez De Soto cordially welcomed the delegation to Panama.
Moments later, President Ma delivered a statement marking his arrival in Panama, and said he was extremely honored to be invited to attend the inauguration ceremonies for Panama's President-elect Juan Carlos Varela and Vice President-elect Isabel Saint Malo de Alvarado. He remarked he would especially like to extend, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, his sincerest congratulations and best wishes to Panama. The president also expressed his deepest gratitude to Minister of Foreign Affairs Alvarez De Soto and overseas compatriots for making their way to the airport to welcome his arrival.
President Ma mentioned that apart from attending the swearing-in of President-elect Varela, he would exchange opinions with various individuals with the hope of enhancing relations between the ROC and Panama, as well as discussing bilateral cooperation projects. In particular, he said, the ROC and Panama have maintained diplomatic relations for over a century and he hopes that this visit to Panama will further bolster the relationship.
After the welcoming ceremonies at the airport, President Ma and his delegation headed to their hotel, where they were welcomed in the lobby with a Chinese lion dance. The president shook hands with members of the overseas compatriot community in Panama and student and teacher representatives from the Sun Yat-Sen Institute affiliated with the Chinese-Panamanian Cultural Center.
At noontime, President Ma attended a banquet for overseas compatriots at his hotel. In remarks, he said that the first group of ethnic Chinese arrived in Panama 160 years ago in 1854, and the ethnic Chinese community in Panama has been extremely hardworking and industrious, distinguishing itself in many fields. He pointed out that each year overseas compatriots hold public service activities to show concern for other overseas compatriots and local communities.
The president commented that upon taking office six years ago he immediately sought to build a "robust economy," a "just society," and a "sustainable and harmonious environment," and to work for "cross-strait peace" and "friendly relations with the international community." He added that quite a few substantive achievements have already been seen in these respects.
The president pointed to cross-strait relations as an example. He said 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. This has served as the basis for increasingly close interaction and visits between the two sides, the president stated, specifically mentioning that the two sides have signed 21 agreements and each year people make roughly eight million visits across the Taiwan Strait. In addition, President Ma commented, the number of mainland Chinese students in Taiwan has risen from 823 six years ago to roughly 25,000 today.
The president furthermore explained that Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) of the Executive Yuan's Mainland Affairs Council visited mainland China in February of this year to meet with the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍). This set a new precedent in meetings between heads of the offices on both sides that handle cross-strait affairs, as the two referred to each other by their official titles, he said. President Ma noted that Minister Zhang recently paid a reciprocal visit to Taiwan, where he and Minister Wang reached consensus on a number of points. For instance, the two sides have been negotiating for nearly two years to establish representative offices on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Discussions had become bogged down over the issue of "humanitarian visits," but a breakthrough in terms of general principle has now been seen. Meanwhile, the president added, both sides have also reached a consensus in principle on mainland Chinese flying to Taiwan and then transiting to onward destinations. President Ma remarked that Taiwan desires to participate in regional economic integration by joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. He said that the mainland Chinese side has now expressed willingness to cooperate with Taiwan on this matter. All of the aforementioned developments will be conducive to promoting economic development in Taiwan, he remarked.
The president emphasized that cross-strait relations are now at their most stable since the two sides came under separate rule 65 years ago. Although the two sides still disagree on a number of issues, he noted, if both sides act courageously and with vision, face political realities square on, shelve disputes, and work to create win-win situations, disputes will be resolved and the relationship will move forward.
President Ma mentioned that the improvement in cross-strait relations has also helped boost Taiwan's relations with the international community. While strengthening alliances with its diplomatic partners, the ROC has also been able to expand substantive relationships with countries with which it does not maintain formal diplomatic ties, including the United States, Japan, and European Union members, he said. As for participation in the international community, Taiwan has attended the World Health Assembly now for five consecutive years and last September attended the assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization for the first time in 42 years. This has considerably boosted Taiwan's visibility in the international area, he stated.
The president then discussed the government's achievements in promoting economic development. Shortly after he took office six years ago, he said, Taiwan began feeling the impact of the global financial tsunami and the European debt crisis. The government, however, adopted prudent financial and monetary policies to dampen the impact, he noted. Looking ahead, the president stated, the government will continue working to transform Taiwan's industrial structure from an efficiency-driven economic model to innovation-driven one. He added that the government is working quickly to complete the free economic pilot zones, and will continue to complete bilateral economic and trade agreements with its major trading partners so that Taiwan's international economic and trade relations will take place under freer and fairer conditions. This, he said, will help Taiwan to achieve its goal of "building up Taiwan while linking with the Asia-Pacific region and creating a global presence."
In the afternoon, President Ma visited Panama's Presidential Palace to hold discussions with outgoing President Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal. The two leaders exchanged opinions on a wide range of topics, including Panama's recent completion of a subway system, and the distribution and development of energy. President Martinelli also told President Ma of his plan to visit Taiwan early next year. After the conclusion of those talks, President Ma then visited the Miramar Inter-Continental Hotel to meet with President-elect Juan Carlos Valera. President-elect Valera applauded President Ma for his cross-strait policies, saying that they have brought enormous benefits to the people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait. President-elect Valera also expressed hope that the ROC and Panama can continue to expand their cooperation and interaction for the benefit of their respective peoples.
In the evening, President Ma was invited to attend a banquet at the Presidential Palace hosted by President Martinelli, and the leaders had pleasant discussions.