President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of October 30 with a delegation led by Korea's Yonsei University President Kap-young Jeong. Upon receiving a special plaque of appreciation for his achievements as a model leader, presented by Mr. Jeong on behalf of the university, President Ma expressed his deepest gratitude. He also expressed hope that the ROC and Korea will sign an investment guarantee agreement and a double taxation avoidance agreement as soon as possible so that together, they can generate business opportunities and further enhance bilateral relations.
In remarks, President Ma stated that Yonsei University is one of Korea's most renowned institutions of higher education, and has signed 23 exchange agreements with colleges and universities in Taiwan, fostering frequent academic exchanges. The president expressed his sincere concern about the outbreak earlier this year in Korea of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which caused 37 deaths and over 100 people to be hospitalized. He also shared with the visitors Taiwan's experience in combatting the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003.
President Ma recalled that the SARS outbreak occurred when he served as Taipei City mayor, and in an effort to stay abreast of the latest developments, he worked and slept in his office for 42 days. At the time, the public had little understanding of SARS, and treatments to combat the virus were largely ineffective. Taiwan gained much experience in the course of combating the SARS outbreak, however, and consequently honed its ability to combat subsequent outbreaks of infectious diseases, he said.
The president then briefed the visitors on the government's achievements in recent years in improving cross-strait relations. He noted that over the past seven years the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have signed 23 agreements, and between the APEC meetings in October of 2013 and May of this year, the ministers in charge of cross-strait affairs from both sides of the Strait have held five formal meetings where both sides used their official titles. In addition, the number of mainland students studying in Taiwan jumped from 823 prior to his taking office to about 33,000 last year, a 40-fold increase. Mainland Chinese also made four million tourist visits to Taiwan in 2014 alone. Even more important, since the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) was signed, Taiwan's exports to the mainland have increased, and US$2.5 billion in tariffs have been eliminated. Small and medium-sized enterprises account for half of the companies benefited from that trend. All of these developments show that the situation in the Taiwan Strait is now more peaceful and prosperous than it has ever been in the 66 years since the two sides came under separate governance.
As for progress in the ROC's relations with the international community, the president stated that three years ago he proposed the East China Sea Peace Initiative, hoping to reduce tension in the East China Sea while urging the relevant parties to resolve disputes according to international law. In 2013 Taiwan and Japan signed a fisheries agreement, thus resolving fishing disputes between the two sides that had lasted 40 years. This past May, the ROC further unveiled the South China Sea Peace Initiative based on the principle that although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared. The president also in June published an article in The Wall Street Journal, explaining the spirit of the South China Sea Peace Initiative.
The president said that in recent years Taiwan and Korea have had close cooperation and interaction. Last year, the total number of tourist visits between the two countries reached 1.15 million. Taiwanese made 626,000 visits to Korea, while Koreans made nearly 530,000 visits to Taiwan, up 50% from 2013. As for trade and economic dealings, bilateral trade last year stood at US$27.4 billion. Korea was Taiwan's sixth largest trading partner and Taiwan was Korea's seventh largest trading partner.
In addition to Yonsei University President Jeong, Yonsei University's Vice President for Health Sciences Namsik Chung was also part of the delegation.