President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of August 12 with a delegation led by Elzbieta Radziszewska, the vice-marshal of the Sejm, which is the lower house (House of Representatives) of the Polish parliament. The president not only extended a cordial welcome to the delegation, but also called for further interaction and cooperation between the two countries.
In remarks, President Ma stated that Vice-Marshal Radziszewska has a strong background in the political arena, having served five terms in the Sejm, and as secretary of state in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister. She is also deeply concerned about gender equality issue. Vice-Marshal Radziszewska previously visited the ROC in 2002, and has made considerable contributions in promoting bilateral interaction and exchanges, the president said.
President Ma stated that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the ROC's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan. Both the ROC and Poland suffered the pains of war during World War II, but after the conflict sought economic revival and social stability, and have seen results in many areas over the years, he said.
Discussing government-to-government interaction, the president mentioned that the Polish-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, which was founded in 1998, presently has 81 members, including three vice-marshals of the Sejm. It is the largest bilateral friendship organization in Poland's parliament, including senators and members of the Sejm from different parties. The president also expressed gratitude to members of Poland's parliament for sending two letters to the Polish government in June 2011 and June 2013, respectively, urging support for Taiwan's participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the International Civil Aviation Organization, as well as the negotiation and signing of an economic cooperation agreement between Taiwan and the European Union (EU).
The president pointed out that trade between Taiwan and Poland in 2008 was about US$800 million, but last year had grown to about US$1.1 billion, a rise of 33%. A total of 27 companies from Taiwan have made investments in Poland that employ 4,500 Polish workers, with aggregate investment exceeding US$200 million.
In terms of interaction in the private sector, the president mentioned that last year ROC nationals made 53,000 visits to Poland, a ten-fold rise from 5,000 visits in 2007. The two countries also signed a youth working holiday agreement last year to promote interaction between the two sides, and this year will sign an air transport agreement. These two accords will enhance interaction among youth and promote air traffic, respectively, he said.
The president then mentioned that the ROC's Ministry of Education since 2012 has provided financial assistance to Polish university students to come to Taiwan during their summer vacation to study Chinese. Each year about four universities send groups of students to Taiwan for short-term Chinese-language study. Two years ago, the ROC began to send Chinese-language teachers to Poland to promote the learning of Chinese. As of the first half of this year, three teachers from Taiwan have gone to Poland to teach, and the president said that the ROC government will continue to promote related policies, hoping to enhance bilateral interaction and cooperation.
The delegation also included Members of the Sejm Pawel Arndt and Jozef Racki, as well as Senators Izabela Kloc and Robert Dowhan.