President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of June 2 with a delegation led by German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group Chairman Klaus-Peter Willsch. In addition to recognizing the contributions made by the friendship group in promoting ROC-German relations, the president also hopes that the two countries will continue to deepen mutual cooperation, opening a new page in even closer bilateral friendship and interaction.
In remarks, the president stated that Mr. Willsch has served as the group's chairman since March 2010. In 2013 he facilitated the signing of a petition by 67 cross-party parliamentarians supporting Taiwan's participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as well as another petition in 2014 signed by 86 cross-party parliamentarians supporting Taiwan's continued participation in that organization. Chairman Willsch also wrote a letter to INTERPOL's new Secretary General Jurgen Stock, who is also German, stating that the German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group supports Taiwan's participation in the INTERPOL. The president noted that the ROC government on June 1 conferred the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy on Chairman Willsch in recognition of his friendship and longstanding strong support for this country.
The president mentioned that the friendliness of the German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group for the ROC reminded him of the deeds of Mr. John Rabe, the chief China representative for the German company Siemens during the Nanjing Massacre in December of 1937. Mr. Rabe created the Nanjing International Safety Zone, which protected over 200,000 Chinese from injury and death at the hands of the Japanese military. The president explained that this year marks the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the ROC government has invited Mr. Rabe's grandson, Professor Thomas Rabe, to Taiwan to participate in commemorative activities. Another invited guest is Ms. Manli Ho (何曼禮), the daughter of Ho Feng-Shan (何鳳山), Chinese Ambassador to Austria during World War II who issued nearly 2,000 "life visas" that allowed Jews to seek asylum in China for refuge. Their participation holds great significance.
The president then addressed cross-strait relations, noting that the ROC 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. To date, the two sides have signed 21 agreements, transforming the Taiwan Strait from a "killing field" into a "peaceful arena," he said. In addition, over the past seven years mainland Chinese have made over 14 million visits to Taiwan, nearly four million in 2014 alone. The heads of the agencies on either side responsible for cross-strait affairs met three times last year and addressed each other by their official titles, which was an unprecedented development, said the president.
The president commented that Germany in the 1970s addressed relations between the two Germanys based on the "one Germany, two states" concept (ein Deutschland – zwei Staaten), which inspired him in promoting cross-strait relations. Also, East and West Germany in 1972 signed the Basic Treaty (Grundlagenvertrag), which separates sovereignty from governing authority, and is similar to his advocacy of the "mutual non-recognition of sovereignty, and mutual non-denial of governing authority" concept for both sides of the Taiwan Strait. These kinds of ideas can serve as a reference point for Taiwan in handling cross-strait relations, the president stated.
The president also mentioned that in 1969 Germany and other Western European nations were involved in the North Sea Continental Shelf cases, but all the relevant parties ultimately promoted the cooperative exploration of oil. This had a direct impact on the development of the North Sea oil field, he said, adding that this also served as important reference for the ROC government in its August 2012 announcement of the East China Sea Peace Initiative, which stresses that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared." It was under this framework that the ROC and Japan in April 2013 signed a fisheries agreement, thereby resolving a 40-year fishing dispute.
The president furthermore stated that on May 26 this year he formally announced the South China Sea Peace Initiative, extending the concepts of the East China Sea Peace Initiative to the South China Sea with the hope of turning the South China Sea into a "sea of peace and cooperation" like the East China Sea. The United States on the day following the announcement said that it appreciates the initiative, and applauds the ROC for urging all parties to resolve disputes using peaceful means and respect the spirit of the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and other international laws.
President Ma then stated that the ROC has stationed personnel on Taiping Island, the only island in the Spratly Islands that has fresh water resources. This shows the ROC's firm stance that it has never abandoned sovereignty over this island. The ROC, he said, hopes that all parties in the South China Sea will act in accordance with the spirit of the South China Sea Peace Initiative and "temporarily shelve sovereignty disputes and engage in discussions on the development of resources."
The president stated that the ROC has strived to serve in the international arena as a regional peacemaker and provider of humanitarian aid. Currently, 142 countries and areas provide ROC nationals with visa-free courtesies or landing visas, 88 more than the 54 countries offering that kind of treatment before he took office in 2008. The ROC has also signed youth working holiday agreements with 13 nations, and the president noted that Germany was the first European country to sign such an accord with us. These examples show that the ROC has become an asset, and not a liability to the international community, and that it is being widely welcomed by the world community, he said.
The president also hopes that Germany will continue to support and actively promote the negotiation and signing of a bilateral investment agreement and economic cooperation agreement between the ROC and the European Union (EU) at an early date, which would further expand the ROC's trade and economic cooperation with Germany and the EU.
Also in the delegation were Bundestag members Jens Koeppen, Carola Stauche, Marina Kermer, Andrea Wicklein, and Uda Heller.