President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of April 14 attended a reception for Japanese journalists stationed in the ROC. The president updated the attendees on the latest developments in a wide range of areas, as well as future prospects for economic and trade relations. He also reaffirmed the ROC's efforts to serve in the international arena as a regional peacemaker and a provider of humanitarian aid.
In remarks, President Ma stated that when he took office in 2008 Taiwan was facing challenges in its economic development, external relations, and cross-strait affairs. At that time the most pressing issues were to find viable paths forward for Taiwan's economy, cross-strait relations, and its diplomatic agenda. Significant achievements have been seen on all three fronts over the past six years, the president said.
As for economic development, President Ma noted that Taiwan's economic growth last year reached 3.74%, which was the highest growth rate in the past three years and also surpassed the growth rates of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Korea. Taiwan's exports last year were valued at US$313.8 billion, which showed growth over the previous year, while Taiwan's unemployment rate in February of this year fell to 3.69%, the lowest level in 15 years for that month, he said.
With respect to participating in regional economic integration, the president remarked that since taking office his administration has actively promoted the negotiation and signing of economic cooperation or free trade agreements with Taiwan's main trading partners. In 2010 Taiwan and mainland China signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), after which Taiwan signed economic, trade, and investment cooperation agreements with Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore. Taiwan and the United States also resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), and the government hopes that the two countries will sign a bilateral investment agreement in the future to create even closer cooperation.
President Ma also explained that in recent years Taiwan has actively sought to participate in regional economic integration mechanisms such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). He stressed that member states of the TPP and the RCEP absorb 35% and 57% of Taiwan's exports, respectively, but in aggregate that figure rises to 70% if you take into account the seven nations that belong to both groupings. This highlights the importance and urgency for Taiwan to join the TPP and the RCEP, he said.
The president commented that the ROC and Japan share the core values of freedom, democracy, rule of law, and human rights. Bilateral relations have consistently been friendly, and the two sides have a close bond. President Ma pointed out that immediately after taking office he designated the relationship between the two countries as a "special partnership." The two sides have signed 25 agreements to date, and bilateral relations are presently at their closest state in over 40 years, he stated.
Addressing economic and trade relations, the president said that Japan is Taiwan's third largest trading partner, while Taiwan is Japan's fourth largest. Bilateral trade last year hit US$61.6 billion. Taiwan and Japan recently have been actively engaged in negotiations on an agreement to avoid double taxation and on customs cooperation. The president is confident that suitable arrangements in these matters will not only create a fair tax regime and a good investment environment for enterprises from both nations, but also strengthen substantive bilateral relations. Furthermore, President Ma hopes that Taiwan and Japan will soon be able to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) or economic cooperation agreement (ECA) to enhance bilateral economic relations.
The president stressed that Taiwan and Japan on April 10, 2013 signed a fisheries agreement that peacefully resolved a 40-year fishing dispute and has increased the catches by fishermen of both countries. At the same time, the number of fishing disputes has dropped from 17 in the year prior to the signing of the agreement to zero at present. President Ma added that on August 5, 2012 he announced the East China Sea Peace Initiative, which stresses that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared." This framework urges related parties to reduce tensions and strengthen dialogue, using peaceful measures to resolve disputes in the East China Sea. The president said that the Taiwan-Japan fisheries agreement is a concrete manifestation of the East China Sea Peace Initiative.
Turning to relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the president stated that the development of cross-strait ties is crucial to peace in the Asia-Pacific region and has long been a focus of the international community. Consequently, over the past seven years the government has consistently sought, under the framework of the ROC Constitution, to maintain the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" in the Taiwan Strait, and to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait ties under the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. This has helped to underpin an increase in the breadth and depth of bilateral interaction, he said.
President Ma then mentioned that besides playing the role of peacemaker in the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea, the ROC is also striving to fulfill its role as a provider of humanitarian aid by extending a helping hand to areas and people throughout the world whenever required. For instance, the ROC immediately provided donations of cash and material goods to Japan after the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and to the Philippines and Palau after they suffered severe damage caused by Typhoon Haiyan. In addition, the ROC responded to the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Africa last year by donating 100,000 sets of personal protective equipment to affected areas in West Africa. The ROC in December of last year donated US$1 million to the CDC Foundation in the U.S. to assist the international community in its joint response to the Ebola outbreak. We also donated 350 pre-fab structures to northern Iraq at the end of last year to help refugees by providing shelter during the winter months. All of these gestures demonstrate the true spirit of providing humanitarian aid, the president said.
President Ma then accepted questions from members of the Japanese media. In a lively interaction, the president responded to queries about plans to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the ROC's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, cross-strait relations, ROC-Japan relations, and Taiwan's application to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Those attending the reception were 26 correspondents stationed in Taiwan from 12 of Japan's largest media sources.