President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of November 14 with the delegation from the ROC that attended the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders' Week. In addition to thanking former Vice President Vincent C. Siew (蕭萬長), who led the delegation as his envoy, the president also thanked the rest of the delegation for working in the international arena to secure Taiwan's interests. He also applauded the substantive achievements of the delegation in forging stronger ties with both the international community and mainland China.
In remarks, President Ma first thanked former Vice President Siew for his hard work. The president remarked that this is the second time that Mr. Siew attended this important international conference as his envoy, and that he has boosted the ROC's visibility within APEC. President Ma also praised Mr. Siew for his contributions during the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM). For instance, the president noted, the APEC Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC) Program promoted by the ROC has been applauded by many APEC members. In addition, he said, the three representatives from the ROC to the APEC Business Advisory Council and other business leaders in attendance distinguished themselves during the meetings, for which the president also expressed his appreciation.
President Ma noted that former Vice President Siew also engaged in bilateral discussions with leaders or leaders' representatives from the world's three largest economic entities—the United States, mainland China, and Japan. During his bilateral discussions with mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平), Mr. Siew highlighted that the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means, is the main basis for cross-strait peace. This seemingly unremarkable consensus quite critical because both sides are willing to use this as the basis for the conduct of cross-strait relations. Next, the president said, Mr. Siew during his discussions with US Secretary of State John Kerry explained Taiwan's willingness and efforts to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Lastly, during Mr. Siew's discussions with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he also stressed Taiwan's desire to further enhance ties with Japan, President Ma noted. He commented that these three bilateral meetings carried significance and were among the highlights of this trip.
President Ma further stated that another important issue worthy of note at this year's APEC meetings was that the United States in the past was not overly supportive of the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) concept, but this year the US delegation did not rule it out. In fact, the US feels that the TPP is one way to achieve the FTAAP, the president remarked. He commented that while the ROC attended this year's APEC meetings, this does not mean that it will be able to immediately join the TPP and the RCEP. Nonetheless, the ROC delegation was at least able to express Taiwan's willingness to join the two organizations, noted the president.
President Ma mentioned that Minister Wang Yu-Chi (王郁琦) of the Mainland Affairs Council and Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) of mainland China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council met again on November 12, and that the two sides continued in the same vein as the meeting between former Vice President Siew and Mr. Xi in reiterating that the two sides will continue to pursue stability and improvement in relations on the basis of the "1992 Consensus." Ministers Wang and Zhang, he said, also discussed follow-up issues related to the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, such as the Cross-Strait Trade in Goods Agreement, as well as the topics of cross-strait economic cooperation and the possibility of allowing mainland Chinese to transit in Taiwan on their way to other destinations. The two ministers also examined how to appropriately handle various issues and move forward.
President Ma then mentioned that during the APEC meetings mainland China and Korea announced the completion of substantive negotiations on a free trade agreement. He said that the negotiations were completed earlier than anticipated, and was quite a shock to many in Taiwan, and recently when he attended the 68th Industrial Festival celebration, many in attendance expressed their concerns to him. He stressed that he hopes the legislative review of the Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act and the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement can be completed as soon as possible and that related preparatory work can be carried out so as to clearly demonstrate Taiwan's sincerity and determination to join the TPP and the RCEP. This, he said, would counter the negative image of Taiwan presented in the international media in an article entitled "Taiwan Leaves Itself Behind."
After the president completed his remarks, former Vice President Siew made remarks of his own. He started by thanking President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with the delegation. Mr. Siew stated that this year's APEC meetings came to a successful conclusion and the leaders' representatives after the meetings issued the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders' Declaration - Beijing Agenda for an Integrated, Innovative and Interconnected Asia-Pacific and the Statement on the 25th Anniversary of APEC. He said that the leaders' representatives also approved the Beijing Roadmap for APEC's Contribution to the Realization of the FTAAP and agreed to engage in joint strategic research regarding the early realization of the FTAAP objective. In addition, Mr. Siew noted, the participants also held lively discussions on such topics as the new economy, the blue economy, the green economy, infrastructure, and urbanization. He remarked that all of these topics have a bearing on future industrial development in Taiwan, as well as the nation's economic development.
The former vice president also explained his stance on a number of negative reports published by the media focusing on "titles." He stated that international politics is a hard-edged game, but "one must exist to have value, and take a place at the table to have one's voice heard." The pros and cons of many issues must be weighed, and at times it is necessary to choose the lesser of two evils. In fact, he remarked, Taiwan was not belittled in any venue where it was referred to in English as "Chinese Taipei." In addition, the former vice president explained, he spoke in English during the meetings, and all meeting documents were written in English. Furthermore, all of the conference agendas and titles posted on screens when he was speaking referred to him as being from "Chinese Taipei."
Former Vice President Siew stressed that the ROC delegation obtained the desired results at this year's APEC meetings and lived up to the expectations of the public. He mentioned that the delegation proposed three innovations and eight substantive suggestions, all of which were included in the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders' Declaration, which is testament to the significance of Taiwan's participation in the meetings.
Among those in attendance to meet President Ma at the Presidential Office were advisors Woody Tyzz-jiun Duh (杜紫軍), Wang Yu-Chi, William Tseng (曾銘宗), Chan Chi-shean (詹啟賢), Liu Da-Nien ((劉大年), Kao Lang (高朗), Lin Huei-Ying (林慧瑛), Leslie Koo (辜成允), and Yu-Lon Chiao (焦佑倫). Business community representatives in the delegation included MiTAC-SYNNEX Group Chairman Matthew F.C. Miao (苗豐強) and HTC and VIA Technologies Chairwoman Cher Wang (王雪紅).