President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of October 27 with permanent representatives to the United Nations (UN) from the ROC's diplomatic allies. During the meeting, the president explained that the ROC is actively playing the role of a "provider of humanitarian aid" and "peacemaker" in the international community, and briefed the visitors on the ROC's contributions in this regard. He also asked those in attendance to continue to take substantive action to support the ROC's meaningful participation in international organizations.
In remarks, the president stated that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the UN. The ROC was a founding member of the UN, he said, noting that in 1942 it signed declarations related to the UN and in 1945 participated in the founding of the UN at the San Francisco Conference. While the ROC lost its representation in the UN in 1971, the name "Republic of China" still exists in Articles 23 and 110 of the UN Charter. In fact, the president said, since he took office in 2008 the ROC has pragmatically promoted its meaningful participation in UN-affiliated organizations and activities. In addition, he expressed his deepest gratitude to the ROC's allies for speaking on behalf of the ROC over the years during the General Debate of the UN General Assembly.
President Ma remarked that the ROC has been invited to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA) for seven consecutive years dating back to 2009. The ROC participates in that organization under an appropriate name, has formal status in the WHA, is represented by a ministerial-level official, and has a dignified and equal standing in that body, he said. In addition, the ROC's contributions in the WHA have been recognized by the international community, he added. In September of 2013, the director general of the ROC's Civil Aeronautics Administration was also invited by the council president of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to attend the organization's 38th Assembly as a special guest. This marked the first time that a representative from the ROC had attended an ICAO assembly in 42 years, and the president said that these developments represent concrete achievements of the government's policy of "viable diplomacy."
The president went on to explain that while the ROC is still unable to participate in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) or attend meetings of the organization's conference of parties (COP), it nevertheless abides by resolutions and the spirit of decisions made by the UNFCCC. In June of this year the Legislative Yuan passed the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Management Act, whose goal is to reduce Taiwan's output of greenhouse gases to less than 50% of 2005 levels by 2050, said the president.
The president stressed that as a responsible member of the international community, the ROC is willing to and capable of participating in international activities and contributing to the world, including actively being a provider of humanitarian aid to other countries. For example, the president said, the ROC last year responded to the Ebola outbreak in Africa by donating 100,000 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE), while at the same time contributing US$1 million to the US CDC Foundation as part of a joint response to combat the outbreak. In addition, after a devastating earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, the ROC immediately dispatched a disaster rescue and relief team, and delivered material aid and medicine by air to Haiti. The private sector here also donated almost US$16 million to aid in rescue and relief efforts. Following the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the people of the ROC donated some US$200 million to Japan. In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines, after which our government immediately donated US$200,000 to the relief effort, and within only 10 days the private sector collected 680 tons of relief materials. The ROC's Ministry of National Defense then delivered those goods to the Philippines on 18 flights by C-130 transport aircraft and Chung He class tank landing ship. The ROC also provided aid when El Salvador's volcano erupted in 2013 and Guatemala faced poor crops due to drought in 2014. As the president said, "Wherever disaster strikes, we go there to show that we care and provide assistance."
President Ma pointed out that the ROC also actively plays the role of peacemaker. Cross-strait relations, for one example, have moved from serious confrontation toward peaceful and prosperous development. In 2013 Taiwan and Japan signed a fisheries agreement, thus resolving fishing disputes that had lasted 40 years. This, the president said, is a concrete realization of the concept that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared." The fisheries agreement thus ceded absolutely nothing in terms of sovereignty, but made great progress in terms of fishing rights. In addition, the president mentioned that the ROC and the Philippines have also reached three points of consensus on law enforcement at sea in overlapping exclusive economic zones, agreeing to refrain from using force in law enforcement actions, notify each other prior to such actions, and promptly release detained fishing vessels and crews in case of arrest. This has reduced bilateral fishing disputes and promoted regional peace, the president remarked.
Commenting on cross-strait relations, President Ma stated that since he took office his administration 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. "In Taiwan, more and more people support this idea. It's already become mainstream public opinion, a Taiwan Consensus," said the president.
As for cross-strait interaction, President Ma stated that over the past seven years visitors from mainland China have made over 14 million trips to Taiwan, almost four million of them in the past year alone. During that period, the number of mainland students studying in Taiwan also jumped from 823 seven years ago to about 33,000 last year, a 40-fold increase, and the ministers in charge of cross-strait affairs from both sides of the Strait have held six formal meetings where both sides used their official titles. These developments all show that in the past 66 years, cross-strait relations have never been more stable and peaceful.
The president stressed that the international situation is ever-changing, thus making the support that our allies have given the ROC even more significant. In fact, most of the ROC's diplomatic partners have economic and trade dealings with mainland China. "We have never opposed this," the president said, explaining that the ROC itself has trade and investment relations with the mainland. The ROC hopes, however, that the relationships developed between its allies and mainland China do not turn into official relations, he said.
President Ma believes that the relationships between the ROC and its diplomatic partners have consistently been based on cooperation and the sharing of development experiences. Cooperation and interaction have proven quite successful in a wide range of areas, thereby assisting in the development of the ROC's allies. The president also expressed his sincere hope that in the future, our diplomatic allies will continue to help us have even better opportunities to participate in the international community.
The delegation of permanent representatives to the UN included Ambassador Zwelethu Mnisi from Swaziland and Mrs. Mnisi, Ambassador Makurita Baaro from Kiribati, Ambassador Caleb Otto from Palau, and Ambassador Ruben Ignacio Zamora Rivas from El Salvador, as well as First Secretary for Kiribati's Permanent Mission to the UN Baraniko Baaro.