President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of April 28 with a delegation from the 2015 Asia Pacific Journalism Fellowships of the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii, United States. In addition to welcoming the delegation to Taiwan, the president also explained recent progress made by the government in Taiwan's relations with the United States, mainland China, and the international community.
In remarks, President Ma stated that since taking office seven years ago he has sought to develop the ROC into a free, democratic, prosperous, and progressive country. He mentioned that when he was elected president in 2008, former US President George W. Bush sent him a message of congratulations and called Taiwan "a beacon of democracy to Asia and the world." President Barack Obama in November 2014 delivered an address at the University of Queensland in Australia, where he publicly noted that Taiwan has built a thriving democracy. Both men recognized Taiwan's democratic achievements.
President Ma pointed out that according to the Freedom in the World 2015 report released by US human rights organization Freedom House, Taiwan was rated a free country for the 16th consecutive year, on par with highly democratized nations in Western Europe, the United States, and Japan. In addition, the organization in its Freedom of the Press 2014 report, which offers a rating of 197 countries around the world, ranked Taiwan 48th out of 63 rated in the "free" category. The president added that the Reporters Without Borders released its 2015 World Press Freedom Index this past February, and Taiwan was ranked 51st out of 180 countries worldwide and third in the Asia Pacific region. The Index gave Taiwan, as well as Australia, a "satisfactory" rating for press freedom, the second-highest rating category. This demonstrates that Taiwan enjoys a free and diverse media environment.
Commenting on ROC-US relations, the president told the visitors that since taking office in 2008 he has strived to restore mutual trust at the highest levels of government between the two countries, thus significant progress has been seen in this regard. Pointing to visa-free courtesies as an example, Taiwan was included in the US Visa Waiver Program in November 2012, becoming the 38th country in the program and the only one with which the United States does not maintain formal diplomatic relations. The president added that US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy visited Taiwan in April 2014, marking the first time since 2000 that a Cabinet-level official from the US has visited Taiwan. This highlights the stable mutual trust between the two countries at the highest levels of government, the president stated.
As for economic and trade ties, President Ma noted that Taiwan last year surpassed India and Saudi Arabia to become the 10th largest trading partner of the United States, while the United States has been Taiwan's third-largest trading partner but vaulted past Japan to again become the second-largest last year. The president mentioned that bilateral trade last year amounted to US$62.2 billion, a rise of 7.84% from the previous year.
In the security area, the president stated that over the past six years total US arms sales to Taiwan have exceeded US$18.3 billion, the highest amount since the promulgation of the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979. President Obama also signed in December 2014 the Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2014, approving the sale of four Perry-class frigates to Taiwan. This highlights the fact that the ROC works closely with the US Republican Party and Democratic Party to promote a variety of bilateral projects.
President Ma then noted that former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeatedly stated that Taiwan is an important security and economic partner of the United States. Secretary of State John Kerry also publicly indicated that the United States will continue to expand its solid and multi-sided partnership with Taiwan, the president said.
Turning to cross-strait relations, President Ma stated that since he took office in 2008 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 improve 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. He added that the heads of the agencies on each side responsible for cross-strait affairs have already met three times last year and addressed each other by their official title. This puts the principle of "mutual non-recognition of sovereignty, and mutual non-denial of governing authority" into practice. In addition, Taiwan and mainland China over the past nearly seven years have signed 21 agreements, covering a broad range of issues, and over eight million visits from the two sides cross the Taiwan Strait each year. These examples prove that cross-strait relations have continued to develop in a stable manner, the president said.
President Ma stressed that the improvement in cross-strait ties made it possible for the United States to have amicable interactions with the ROC and mainland China at the same time. US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel mentioned this past February that developments in Taiwan-US relations over the past few years have been extremely constructive, and that this has been strongly related to cross-strait developments. The ROC government, with the hope of promoting sustainable peace and prosperity between the two sides, will continue to negotiate with mainland China on topics of mutual concern, such as allowing mainland Chinese to transit in Taiwan on their way to third destinations, signing the Cross-Strait Trade in Goods Agreement, establishing cross-strait representative offices, and jointly participating in regional economic integration.
The president noted that the ROC government in August 2012 unveiled its East China Sea Peace Initiative, which advocates reducing conflict and increasing dialogue under the principles of "safeguarding sovereignty, shelving disputes, pursuing peace and reciprocity, and promoting joint exploration and development." We then signed a fisheries agreement with Japan that peacefully resolved a 40-year fishing rights dispute. The agreement, the president stated, has been recognized by former US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Australian Minister for Defence David Johnston for contributing to regional peace. In addition, we extended the spirit of the East China Sea Peace Initiative to the South China Sea to carry out fishing-related discussions with the Philippines, in which the two sides reached a three-point consensus on the enforcement of law at sea in overlapping exclusive economic zones, thereby resolving disputes and maintaining peace in the region.
President Ma stated that Taiwan has been actively working in recent years to be a provider of humanitarian aid in the international community. For example, Taiwan in last November responded to the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Africa by donating 100,000 sets of personal protective equipment and transporting them to West Africa to combat the spread of the virus. In addition, Taiwan in December donated US$1 million to the CDC Foundation in the United States to help combat the outbreak. Furthermore, for refugees in conflict-stricken areas of the Middle East, the ROC government has also provided a total of over US$8 million in assistance to the Middle East via international non-governmental organizations. These actions highlight our hope to act as a peacemaker and a provider of humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The president expressed hope that the international community will gain a better understand of Taiwan's efforts and achievements over the past seven years through the delegation's visit and reports.
The delegation members included Editorial Writer from Washington Post Stephen Stromberg, Reporter and Producer from The Associated Press Ryan Pearson, Editor and Producer of All Things Considered from National Public Radio Robert Ballenger, Science Reporter from USA Today Elizabeth Weise, Economy Reporter from Los Angeles Times Tiffany Hsu, Deputy Texas Bureau Chief and Energy Editor from Wall Street Journal Lynn Cook, and Business Reporter from The Dallas Morning News Sheryl Jean.