President Ma Ying-jeou and Vice President Wu Den-yih invited the presidents, vice presidents, and secretaries-general from the five Yuan (the five branches of the ROC government) to the Presidential Office on the afternoon of July 10 for a reception. The government leaders exchanged opinions on a wide range of issues, including cross-strait relations, the ROC's relations with other nations, domestic economic and trade developments, the nation's pension system for civil servants, and judicial reform.
In remarks, President Ma first thanked his guests for their longstanding efforts. In particular, the presidents and vice presidents of the Examination Yuan and Control Yuan will step down when their terms come to an end on July 31 and August 31, respectively, and President Ma specially expressed his respect to them.
The president stated that upon taking office in 2008 he began actively seeking to strengthen cross-strait relations and expand room for the ROC in the international community, and many substantive achievements have been seen. For instance, he noted, in February of this year Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) of the Executive Yuan's Mainland Affairs Council met with his counterpart, Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) of mainland China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, and Minister Zhang on June 25 reciprocated by visiting Taiwan. The president said both officials referred to each other by their official titles, and preliminary consensus was reached on the establishment of representative offices, humanitarian visits, transit in Taiwan by mainland tourists on their way to onward destinations, and Taiwan's participation in Asia-Pacific economic integration. President Ma said he was deeply pleased that cross-strait relations are at their most stable since the two sides came under separate rule 65 years ago.
As for the ROC's position in the international community, the president told his guests that the government's long-term efforts have helped to boost Taiwan's substantive relationships with countries with which it does not maintain formal diplomatic ties. In addition, President Ma said, he just several days ago concluded a trip to Central America to attend the inauguration of Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and visit El Salvador to offer his congratulations to that nation's new President Salvador Sanchez Ceren. He remarked that he signed a joint communique with his Salvadoran counterpart, which will help to solidify bilateral ties.
President Ma also commented that the website MoveHub carried out a survey of countries throughout the world entitled "How Powerful is Your Passport?" Taiwan ranked 22nd in the world and sixth in Asia, which indicates that the world community has recognized the quality of our people and our national image. The president further said that the government will continue working to persuade even more nations to provide visa-free courtesies to ROC nationals.
President Ma remarked that participants in the March student movement this year occupied the Legislative Yuan for 24 days, paralyzing the nation's parliament and delaying the review of many important bills. In response, he said, the Legislative Yuan held a three-week special session that lasted from June 13 to July 4, during which lawmakers vetted and approved nominees for the 12th Examination Yuan passed and amendments to the Pharmacists Act and Provisional Act Governing the Welfare Allowance for Elderly Farmers. President Ma added that lawmakers were also supposed to vet the nominees for the 5th Control Yuan, which is crucial to the operation of constitutional government, but opposition parties obstructed the process and prevented voting on the nominees.
The president remarked that the Legislative Yuan intends to convene a second special session, and he expressed hope that all political parties will rationally and rigorously fulfill their role of advice and consent. At the same time, he called on lawmakers to allow a vote on the nominees for the Control Yuan to ensure that the nation's constitutional system is maintained. Otherwise, the Control Yuan will be idle, which would appear to be a violation of the Constitution, he commented.
As for the draft of the Special Act for Free Economic Pilot Zones, the draft of the Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act, and the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement, all of which have an important bearing on the nation's future, the president expressed hope that the Legislative Yuan can speedily complete deliberations, and noted that public opinions polls have shown that support for the Trade in Services Agreement has steadily increased since March. The president commented that smooth passage of this agreement would be conducive to Taiwan's economic development. He emphasized that mainland China and Korea are presently negotiating a free trade agreement and expect to sign it before the end of this year. As 70% of Taiwan's economic growth is generated by external trade, and many of Korea's and Taiwan's exports compete head to head, the ROC cannot sit idly by. President Ma stated that the government will move as quickly as possible to sign economic and trade agreements with Taiwan's major trading partners, thereby reducing risks.
Commenting on the civil service system, President Ma remarked that the Examination Yuan in recent years has actively pushed reform under the leadership of Examination Yuan President Kuan Chung (關中) and Examination Yuan Vice President Wu Jin-lin (伍錦霖). Important steps have been taken to introduce a better examination mechanism, make more effective use of human resources in the government, and improve civil service training programs, he said. In particular, President Ma noted, the current Examination Yuan has passed more laws, regulations, and administrative guidelines than any other session of the Examination Yuan in history. For this clear record of outstanding performance, he said, Examination President Kuan should be applauded. Mr. Kuan has also sought to reform the pension system, and while not everything hoped for has been accomplished, concrete reform plans have been laid out, he remarked, further expressing hope that Examination Yuan Vice President Wu, who will succeed to Mr. Kuan's position, will continue to go forward with the reform work. This, he said, will help to establish a well-rounded and modern civil service system.
Addressing the work of the Control Yuan, the president noted that under the leadership of Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (王建煊) and Control Yuan Vice President Chen Jinn-lih (陳進利), the Control Yuan has taken action against illegal and improper activities, and actively protected human rights.
President Ma further acknowledged that in the past the government was plagued by frequent corruption scandals. The ranking of Taiwan in terms of clean government fell from its previous best of 25th all the way to 39th in 2008, which caused great public dissatisfaction, distorted the allocation of public resources, and seriously harmed the nation's development and the public's wellbeing. But in recent years, the president stated, the government has initiated a strong anti-corruption campaign and established the Agency Against Corruption to promote clean government and reform. Last year, he mentioned, Taiwan's ranking improved to 36th. President Ma stressed that several recent corruption cases have dealt a serious blow to efforts by the government over the years to promote ethical conduct and win the public's trust. The government must think seriously about these cases and re-examine its anti-corruption mechanisms to prevent further wrongdoing, he said.
President Ma then turned his attention to judicial reform, stating that the public has long distrusted the judicial system, so after taking office he sought to rebuild faith in the system. Measures toward that end include adoption of a set of "Regulations Governing the Evaluation of Prosecutors," which provides for participation by people of diverse backgrounds on the Prosecutor Evaluation Committee, and passage of the Judges Act. These moves, he remarked, have been taken to improve the credibility of the justice system in the eyes of the public. President Ma stated that Judicial Yuan President Hau-Min Rai (賴浩敏) and Judicial Yuan Vice President Yeong-Chin Su (蘇永欽), have, since leading the Judicial Yuan, actively pushed forward with judicial reform work. They have strengthened transparency, established an advisory jury system, and improved the system for overseeing and dismissing judges, all of which are important preliminary accomplishments, President Ma said.
Commenting on the economy, the president noted a gradual improvement. The forecast for economic growth this year has been raised to 2.98%, the unemployment rate in May fell to 3.85%, the composite economic monitoring indicator flashed a green light for the fourth consecutive month, the stock market index recently broke through the 9,500-point level, and the value of exports has posted five consecutive months of growth. At the same time, he said, Taiwan and 13 other members of the World Trade Organization have announced the start of negotiations on an Environmental Goods Agreement. According to estimates by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, the list of negotiated items could account for roughly 10% of Taiwan's exports, he said, expressing confidence that this would boost Taiwan's exports.
Among those attending the reception were Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Judicial Yuan President Rai, Examination Yuan President Kuan, Control Yuan President Wang, Vice Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), Judicial Yuan Vice President Su, Examination Yuan Vice President Wu, Control Yuan Vice President Chen, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川), Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Jiin-fang Lin (林錦芳), Examination Yuan Secretary-General Hwang Yea-baang (黃雅榜), and Control Yuan Secretary-General Chen Feng-yi (陳豐義). Also attending the event were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), and Deputy Secretaries-General to the President Hsiung Kuang-hua (熊光華) and Hsu-Tsen Hsiao (蕭旭岑).