President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of April 17 with a delegation led by Pascal Couchepin, former president of the Swiss Confederation. In addition to extending a warm welcome to the delegation, the president expressed hope that the Republic of China and Switzerland will continue to pursue broader cooperation in a wide range of areas.
In remarks, President Ma noted that Mr. Couchepin visited Taiwan more than 20 years ago when he was a member of the Swiss National Council. President Ma went on to say that Mr. Couchepin has an outstanding and much-admired record of government service, having headed both his country's Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, and Federal Department of Home Affairs, and served as both vice-president and president, actively promoting Switzerland's development in many spheres. He has also long been an advocate on behalf of charitable, educational, cultural, and religious activities, and taken an active interest in the peaceful development of the Asia-Pacific Region. President Ma specially congratulated Mr. Couchepin on receiving an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Fu Jen Catholic University during his current trip.
President Ma pointed out that the ROC and Switzerland both uphold the values of democracy, peace, and freedom, as well as human rights and the rule of law. And even in the absence of diplomatic ties, the two countries maintain close and cordial relations. In economic and trade ties, Switzerland is the ROC's sixth largest trading partner in Europe, with bilateral trade hitting US$2.23 billion in 2014. A bilateral agreement for the avoidance of double taxation also went into effect at the end of 2011, which helps to expand economic and trade relations.
Turning to the ROC's active participation in regional economic integration, President Ma told the delegation that Taiwan first signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with mainland China back in 2010, followed by a Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement (BIA) in 2011, and the ANZTEC economic cooperation agreement with New Zealand and the ASTEP economic partnership agreement with Singapore in 2013. That year also saw the ROC resume negotiations with the United States under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), showing Taiwan's determination to trade liberalization.
President Ma then explained that the ROC is actively seeking to participate in regional economic integration alliances such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). He is also hoping that Taiwan and Switzerland will sign a free trade agreement (FTA) to further bolster bilateral economic and trade ties.
President Ma also addressed cross-strait relations, saying that since taking office in 2008, he has been dedicated to peaceful development and interaction with mainland China. In the almost seven years since then, the two sides have signed 21 agreements, and mainland Chinese have made a total of 14 million visits to Taiwan, with almost four million making the trek in 2014 alone. The number of mainland Chinese students studying in Taiwan has increased by a factor of 40, rising from just 823 before President Ma's first term to over 32,000 now. Last year the ministers in charge of cross-strait affairs from the two sides also began to hold regularly scheduled meetings, addressing each other using their official titles and establishing an institutionalized communication mechanism. So in the past 66 years, cross-strait relations have never been this stable, and this peaceful.
President Ma mentioned that in August of 2012 he proposed the East China Sea Peace Initiative, calling on all parties to peacefully resolve territorial disputes in the East China Sea based on international law. In April of 2013 the ROC and Japan signed a fisheries agreement that effectively resolved a 40-year fisheries dispute. As a result, catches by crews from both countries increased, and the number of fishing disputes between the two countries dropped from 17 in the year prior to the signing of the agreement to the present none. Last year the People to People International organization also conferred the Eisenhower Medallion on President Ma to acknowledge the ROC's contributions to peace in the East China Sea. Within the mutually overlapping economic zones, the ROC and Philippine governments reached three points of consensus, agreeing to refrain from using force in law enforcement actions, to notify each other prior to such actions, and to promptly release detained fishing vessels and crews in case of arrest. This effectively reduced the number of maritime law enforcement disputes between the two parties.
President Ma called attention to a resolution on EU-China relations adopted by the European Parliament on March 14, 2013 that acknowledged the spirit of Taiwan's East China Sea Peace Initiative. In March of this year the European Parliament also passed a resolution on European Union foreign affairs and security policy, in which it stresses the importance of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific Region. This accords with the concept underlying the East China Sea Peace Initiative that although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared. So the current administration's efforts to promote regional peace have clearly garnered broad international acclaim.
President Ma then recounted the ROC's active role as a provider of humanitarian aid in the international community. He cited the ROC's response to the 2011 March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, when donations from Taiwan reached US$200 million, tops in the world. And when Typhoon Haiyan devastated parts of the Philippines in 2013, the ROC promptly dispatched air force cargo planes and naval vessels carrying over 700 tons of relief supplies. When the Ebola epidemic struck Africa last year, the ROC donated 100,000 sets of personal protective equipment to afflicted areas in West Africa while also donating US$1 million to the CDC Foundation in the US to fight the disease. On March 18 of this year, with the cooperation of the United States, Taiwan also set up a training course in Tainan City designed to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases, with various Southeast Asian countries sending personnel to Taiwan for training.
For areas in the Middle East wracked by war, President Ma said that at the end of last year the ROC government donated 350 prefabricated houses to northern Iraq and 10 to Jordan, as well as food and other relief supplies. Over the past two years the ROC government has donated US$8.25 million in relief funds to this region, reflecting the spirit of compassion that lies at the heart of humanitarian aid.
Mr. Rolf Frei, Director of the Trade Office of Swiss Industries and ROC Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平) accompanied the delegation to the Presidential office to meet with President Ma.