Having completed his trip to three of the ROC's diplomatic partners in the Caribbean and Central America—the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nicaragua, President Ma Ying-jeou and his delegation arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at 4:15 p.m. on July 16 Los Angeles time (7:15 a.m. on July 17 Taipei time).
After President Ma's chartered aircraft came to a halt, ROC Representative to the US Lyushun Shen (沈呂巡) and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond F. Burghardt boarded the plane to welcome him. The president then disembarked and headed to his hotel, where waiting overseas compatriots gave him an enthusiastic welcome.
In the evening, President Ma attended a banquet with overseas compatriots and remarked that this was his fifth transit stop in Los Angeles. He also said that he was inspired by, and proud of, the warm receptions he received from overseas compatriots during his transit stops in Boston and Los Angeles.
President Ma stated that overseas compatriots have distinguished themselves in their contributions to the ROC both in the revolution that led to the founding of the ROC, and the War of Resistance Against Japan. For instance, four statues of laborers who participated in the Huanghuagang Uprising are featured in the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall in Singapore, symbolizing the spirit of total commitment and sacrifice for their country. The president then mentioned that after the Mukden Incident in 1931 Arthur Chin (陳瑞鈿), an overseas compatriot in the United States, appealed to 13 other young overseas compatriots to return to China to serve in the air force. Chin downed six Japanese warplanes early in the War of Resistance and was posthumously inducted into the American Combat Airman Hall of Fame in the American Airpower Heritage Museum in Midland, Texas. In recognition of his patriotic spirit, Chin's accomplishments are also detailed in the ROC Air Force Museum in Gangshan, Kaohsiung City, said President Ma.
The president stated that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the ROC's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan and Taiwan's retrocession, so the government is inviting descendants of important figures from the war era to Taiwan to take part in memorial events. Invitees include descendants of Flying Tigers General Claire Lee Chennault, Chief of Staff of the Allied Forces in the China Theatre Albert Coady Wedemeyer, and late US presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The president hopes that this series of activities will give everyone an opportunity to commemorate that historical period together.
President Ma emphasized that the government's intention in commemorating the War of Resistance is not to praise war, but to condemn aggression; not to commemorate victory, but to promote peace. "The wrongs of war may be forgiven, but the truths of history absolutely cannot be forgotten," he said.
The president also mentioned that the government is planning the first commemorative museum in Taiwan dedicated to comfort women, hoping it will help people from all walks of life understand that comfort women were forced into service and did not act voluntarily.
President Ma then shared the delegation's achievements on this trip with overseas compatriots on hand. He said that when he made a transit stop in Boston, Massachusetts on the outbound leg of his journey, two members of the House of Representatives came to meet his plane, marking the first time that a US congressman had ever welcomed an ROC president at the airport. He noted that American authorities ensured his security, comfort, and convenience during his stopover. When he visited Harvard University, he also exchanged opinions with experts and scholars from Boston, New York, and Washington D.C. The discussions were quite fruitful and afterwards he walked around campus, which brought back memories from the time when he was a student there. The president said that while he was in the Dominican Republic, he was welcomed several times with military honors, and also toured the Center for Comprehensive Care for the Disabled (Centro de Atencion Integral para la Discapacidad, CAID) in Santo Domingo to see with his own eyes the results of bilateral cooperation.
The president also stated that back in August 2013 he attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction of Haiti's Supreme Court Building, while on this trip he and Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony inaugurating the building. To help Haiti speed up the reconstruction process, the ROC government will also help construct the Ministry of Interior and Territorial Collectivities building, thus highlighting the ROC's philosophy of coming to the aid of those in need. And during his trip to Nicaragua, the two governments reached consensus that calls for the ROC to study how to assist Nicaragua in planning a new port, and training irrigation and agricultural technicians, he said.
The president expressed his gratitude to the ROC's three diplomatic partners for their concern and condolences over the powder explosion at the Formosa Fun Coast water park in northern Taiwan. He also revealed that five specialists from the Johns Hopkins Burn Center will fly back to Taiwan with him to provide assistance to the burn victims. Hopefully, assistance from many sectors of society will help the injured recover as soon as possible, said the president.
Addressing Taiwan's economy, President Ma indicated that the economic growth rate last year reached 3.74%, giving Taiwan the highest economic growth of Asia's four little tigers for the first time in 16 years. Although exports contracted in the second quarter of this year, the government will continue its efforts, hoping that the economic growth rate this year will not fall below 3%, the president stated.
President Ma then remarked that the ROC's relations with Japan, the United States, and mainland China are the best they have been in decades. Working in the public interest, the ROC government has advocated the use of peaceful means to resolve disputes, and success has been seen in this regard in the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea, he said. The government will continue to uphold the same principle to promote regional peace.
The president also commented that Taiwan's presidential election is around the corner, and he hopes that the ROC's relations with the United States and Japan will continue to move forward, and that peace and stability will be maintained in cross-strait relations.
Among those attending the banquet were US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce; US Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Judy Chu; House of Representatives Members Mike Honda, Norma Torres, and Ted Lieu; AIT Chairman Burghardt; National Security Council Secretary-General Kao Hua-chu (高華柱); Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin (林永樂); Minister of Economic Affairs John C. C. Deng (鄧振中); ROC Representative to the US Lyushun Shen; Minister of the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) Steven S. K. Chen (陳士魁); ROC Legislators Chan Kai-Chin(詹凱臣), Lu Hsueh-Chang (呂學樟), Lee Guei-Min (李貴敏), and Wang Yu-Min (王育敏); Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in Los Angeles President Wayne Ng (伍尚齊); and senior adviser to the OCAC Roy Kao (高啟正).