At 8:00 p.m. on July 2 local time (10:00 a.m. July 3 Taipei time), President Ma Ying-jeou held a reception for the traveling press corps accompanying him on his trip to Panama and El Salvador.
In remarks, the president first stated that on this trip, which marks his 10th overseas journey since taking office in May 2008, apart from attending the inauguration ceremonies for Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, he was also going to El Salvador to congratulate President Salvador Sanchez Ceren for his inauguration this past June.
President Ma stated that over the past five years he has visited all 22 of the ROC's diplomatic allies, and his visit to Haiti marked the first time ever that an ROC president had traveled to that Caribbean nation, while his visit to the Vatican in March of last year was also the first time that an ROC president had attended the installation of a new Pope in the over 70 years since the ROC and the Holy See established diplomatic ties. All of these are precious experiences that have had a positive effect on the ROC's foreign affairs, he said, thanking the ROC's personnel stationed abroad for their hard work.
Commenting on the government's "viable diplomacy" policy, President Ma said that upon taking office six years ago he sought to improve cross-strait relations in order to create space for the ROC to develop its international relationships, and to transform a vicious cycle of events between the two sides into a virtuous cycle, so that cross-strait relations would no longer be an impediment to the ROC's external relations. Substantive achievements have been seen in this regard, and the heads of state of and allies, as well as the international community, have applauded this development, he remarked.
President Ma furthermore explained that the ROC government is actively solidifying alliances with its diplomatic partners, and is also enhancing substantive ties with nations with which it does not maintain diplomatic relations. Concurrently, he said, the ROC seeks meaningful participation in international organizations and activities. The president also mentioned that the government embraces the three main principles of "seeking proper goals, acting lawfully, and exercising effective administration" in providing assistance to its diplomatic partners. Thanks to the efforts of the ROC's diplomatic personnel stationed overseas, this has been carried out effectively, he stated.
The president then discussed the enhanced substantive relations with countries with which the ROC does not maintain diplomatic ties. He specifically pointed to significant improvements in relations with the United States, Japan, the European Union, New Zealand, Australia, and ASEAN members in recent years. The president also stated that the number of nations providing ROC nationals with visa-free or landing visa courtesies has risen considerably. Nowadays, each year ROC nationals make over 11 million visits overseas, which is a record high. In addition, the ROC has been invited to participate in the World Health Assembly and the International Civil Aviation Organization, and is now a party to the Agreement on Government Procurement, he said. President Ma noted the ROC hopes to take part in even more international organizations, conferences, and activities.
Turning to the state of Taiwan's economy, the president remarked that our economic growth rate over the past six years has ranked second among the four Asian tigers, trailing only Singapore. Meanwhile, Taiwan's unemployment rate has fallen to a six-year low, he said. Taiwan's composite economic monitoring indicator, the president noted, has already registered a "green light" (i.e. stable economic growth) for four consecutive months, while industrial output and export orders are both pointing to a gradual recovery. He said he is pleased to see these developments.
President Ma mentioned that the government began working aggressively this year to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Uncertainty over the fate of the TPP has arisen because, with the US mid-term elections coming up later this year, the US Congress so that has not granted fast-track authority for TPP to President Obama, but the ROC has not for that reason let up on its efforts to join the pact. In fact, he said, the government has convened inter-ministerial meetings to examine potential roadblocks to TPP accession and formulate responses in order to create conditions beneficial to the ROC's admission to the TPP and the RCEP.
The president stated that the Legislative Yuan is presently meeting in special session to vet candidates nominated to serve as members of the Control Yuan, and to deliberate upon draft versions of the Special Act for Free Economic Pilot Zones and the Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act, as well as the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement. President Ma expressed hope that these bills, which are important to Taiwan's economy and cross-strait relations, will be reviewed and passed quickly. He also urged the opposition party to refrain from violently occupying the speaker's podium and paralyzing the legislature. President Ma said that such irrational behavior has an adverse impact on democracy and the rule of law.
After completing his remarks, the president then exchanged opinions with the media on a broad range of topics of domestic concern, including the government's "viable diplomacy" policy, cross-strait relations, the upcoming year-end elections, Japan's proposed end to its self-imposed ban on its participation in "collective self-defense" (i.e. aiding friendly countries under attack), and the legislature's vetting of candidates nominated to serve as members of the Control Yuan.