President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of December 1 with American Legion National Commander Michael D. Helm and Mrs. Helm, and American Legion Auxiliary National President Janet Jefford. President Ma, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a cordial welcome to the visitors on their trip to Taiwan.
In remarks, President Ma stated that the American Legion has over 2.4 million members throughout the United States and the world—more members than any other organization of retired servicemen in America. The American Legion, he noted, has its 49th Chapter in Taipei, and invites representatives from the ROC's Veterans Affairs Council to attend its national convention each year in August, which is testament to the close friendship between the two sides.
President Ma stated that veterans have made outstanding contributions to their respective nations. In the ROC, for example, the armed forces date back to the establishment of the Whampoa Army 90 years ago. Over this period, the military has played a prominent role in the Eastern Expedition, the Northern Expedition, the War of Resistance against Japan, and the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion. And ever since the government relocated to Taiwan, the military has continuously protected and defended Taiwan, and helped to build it up, he said. Recognizing that some American servicemen died in the course of duty during the August 23 Artillery War of Kinmen in 1958, the president thanked the United States government for its assistance at that time.
Commenting on veterans affairs policy in Taiwan and the US, President Ma stated that the US is home to about 22 million veterans and its budget for the coming fiscal year includes US$163.9 billion for veterans' medical care, burial and memorial services, and other benefits. Taiwan, meanwhile, is home to nearly 420,000 veterans and this year's veterans budget is about US$4 billion, to be used for education, employment, medical care, and geriatric services. This shows that the governments of both countries place great importance on the quality of life for retired servicemen, he said.
With respect to relations between Taiwan and the United States, the president stated that upon taking office in 2008 an important focus of his administration's foreign policy was to restore mutual trust with the United States at the highest levels, and measures taken over the past six years have brought relations to their best state since the promulgation of the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979. The president stated that former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and current Secretary of State John Kerry have publicly recognized the importance of Taiwan-US relations. Former Secretary Clinton even specially stressed that Taiwan is an important security and economic partner of the United States, he mentioned.
President Ma also thanked the US government for faithfully abiding by the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances. Among the Six Assurances, he said, the US pledged that it would not set a date for termination of arms sales to Taiwan, and would not consult with any third party in advance before making decisions about US arms sales to Taiwan. This, he stated, has promoted close cooperation between the two sides in the area of security.
As for Taiwan-US economic and trade ties, the president noted, the two sides have resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement last year, and Taiwan has repeatedly expressed to the United States its strong interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). He said he hopes that opportunities for bilateral cooperation will continue to increase.
With respect to cross-strait relations, the president explained that over the past six years the Taiwan government has sought to maintain a peaceful relationship with mainland China. To date, the two sides have signed 21 agreements covering a wide range of issues, including economic and trade ties, culture, crime-combatting, and nuclear energy safety, he said. President Ma noted that even though the two sides have not signed any form of a peace agreement, the 21 agreements signed constitute a peace agreement in substance, and ties are at their most stable and peaceful since the two sides came under separate rule. Even more importantly, the president added, 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 have met four times over the past year and referred to each other by their official titles in their discussions. This, the president remarked, was the first time this has occurred in the 65 years that the two sides have been under separate rule.
Discussing Taiwan's national defense policy, President Ma commented that over the past six years Taiwan's purchases of arms from the United States have increased substantially to a total of US$18.3 billion. Apart from emphasizing military preparedness and strengthening its relations with mainland China, the government here has also increased its contributions to the international community, the president said.
President Ma furthermore noted that the ROC government has achieved considerable success in its promotion of a volunteer army system. He pointed out that this year it sought to recruit some 10,000 soldiers, but ultimately over 28,000 individuals signed up to join the armed forces. With demand exceeding the number of spots available, the government has been able to select the most outstanding talent to serve the country. Considering that the United States switched from a conscription system to a voluntary army many years ago, the president said he hoped to discuss the matter with the visitors and learn from the considerable experience of the US side in this area.