Continuing with his visit to Central America on a trip codenamed the Forever Peaceful Project, President Ma Ying-jeou held a reception in Belize for his delegation's traveling press corps at 9:00 p.m. on the evening of Wednesday, March 16 (Taipei time: 11:00 a.m., March 17). During the reception, the president responded to questions from reporters on many different topics, including successes achieved during the trip to Central America, the issue of sovereignty over Taiping Island (also known as Itu Aba) in the South China Sea, who will represent Taiwan at this year's Boao Forum for Asia, foreign policy, and cross-strait relations.
Asked whether the government had plans to arrange for journalists to visit Taiping Island to gather news, the president said the government hopes that officials and journalists going to Taiping Island will become a commonplace occurrence. The government is indeed making plans, he said, but whether those visits will actually occur will depend on the island’s weather conditions.
Commenting on the upcoming (late May 2016) issuance by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) of a ruling on a dispute between the Philippines and mainland China over maritime jurisdiction in the South China Sea, President Ma noted that the PCA had sent letters to the Philippines and mainland China in early February to request their views regarding visits to Taiping Island by ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin (林永樂) on January 23 and by President Ma himself on January 28. This shows that the PCA is aware of these visits, and understands the ROC's thinking on this matter. There is currently no way to anticipate how the PCA will rule on the case, he said, but the ROC government has put forward many detailed explanations, which will help the international community understand the current state of development on Taiping Island.
As for the fact that the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) recently referred to our nation as "China (Taiwan)," the president stated that when he traveled to Paraguay and the Dominican Republic eight years ago to attend presidential inaugurations there, and again when he traveled to the Vatican three years ago to the inauguration of Pope Francis, those diplomatic allies all referred to our nation as China, and by "China" they were referring to the Republic of China.
Asked about criticisms by some regarding PARLACEN's membership and operations, the president responded that PARLACEN members have visited Taiwan in the past. PARLACEN President Jose Antonio Alvarado is highly accomplished and respected in the academic sphere and beyond. As a former minister of education, minister of defense, minister of economic affairs, and UN ambassador for Nicaragua, he has a sterling reputation in the international community, so we should view PARLACEN in a positive light.
As for who will be in Taiwan's delegation attending the March 22 Boao Forum for Asia, the president stated that the delegation's membership is determined by the Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation (CSCMF) , an organization founded by former ROC Vice President Vincent C. Siew (蕭萬長). Vice President Siew wasn't able to attend the Boao Forum in April of 2012 because of his status at the time, so the CSCMF asked Wu Den-yih, then running for ROC vice president, to attend the event. In short, he said, it is the CSCMF which decides who from Taiwan will attend the Boao Forum.
Commenting on media reports that Taiwan's cross-strait policy is a key reason why the opposition party won the recent presidential election, the president stated that when overseas news organizations report on matters pertaining to Taiwan, they typically devote a relatively high percentage of their attention to cross-strait issues. In this case, it resulted in the misleading impression that the election had turned on cross-strait policy. President Ma said that he has always called for pursuit of cross-strait peace on the basis of the 1992 Consensus—whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means—and all three candidates in the January election voiced support for maintaining the status quo, which shows that cross-strait policy had nothing to do with the Kuomintang's electoral defeat.
Asked whether there is any possibility of his meeting for talks with President-elect Tsai Ying-wen, President Ma said that after he won election in late March of 2008 he visited the Office of the President in early April to meet with President Chen Shui-bian. There ought to be an opportunity this time for such a meeting, he said, but he will respect the other party's position regarding the timing.
President Ma was also asked about a letter he recently sent to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in which he mentioned that Taiwan would deal appropriately with restrictions on food imports from the area affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster, saying that assurance of food safety will be the top priority. The president asked Foreign Minister Lin to answer the question in greater detail, and the latter explained that Taiwan and Japan both have food safety task forces, and Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare is actively working to establish a bilateral coordination mechanism with an eye to relaxing or eliminating restrictions on food imports from Japan at an appropriate time. There is no set timetable at this point, but hopefully the two sides' food safety task forces can continue to effectively implement their testing systems.
Commenting on the impact of improved cross-strait relations on Taiwan, the president stated that numerous peace dividends have resulted from what the government has done over the past seven-plus years on this front. In recent years, the government has signed investment and fisheries agreements with Japan, signed economic cooperation/partnership agreements with New Zealand and Singapore, and improved relations with the United States. For example, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan A. Thornton have both said that Taiwan-US relations are excellent, and further stated: "The fact that Taiwan-US relations are becoming closer is due in no small part to the stable development of cross-strait relations." In addition, the number of tourist arrivals in Taiwan has climbed rapidly, from 3.71 million eight years ago to more than 10.43 million in 2015. This has come about partly because of the beauty of Taiwan's scenery, its delicious food, and the character of its people, to be sure, but greater openness in policy and the government's pursuit of peace have been even more important factors in bringing Taiwan's advantages to the fore and helping overseas tourists to better understand Taiwan's charms.
Some observers have questioned the manner in which the president has introduced President-elect Tsai Ying-wen to the heads of state of ROC diplomatic allies. People have also criticized the fact that during his trip he has promised diplomatic allies that the ROC will study the possibility of strengthening bilateral cooperation with regard to the maintenance of public security, and will consider increasing its foreign aid in other ways. Critics feel that this amounted to "making promises on behalf of his successor." Responding to reporters' questions about these matters, President Ma stated that in introducing President-elect Tsai he has mentioned her academic background, described her career, and told about his first-hand interactions with her. He has also invited the heads of state of ROC diplomatic allies to attend the upcoming presidential inauguration on May 20. As for the issue of helping diplomatic allies to improve public security, the president stated that although he is nearing the end of his time in office, he has nevertheless called upon his cabinet heads to "always do what must be done and be proactive." As for the implementation of foreign aid projects, after the new president takes office she can make adjustments as appropriate. "She need not necessarily do everything exactly as it's been done thus far." However, he said, our diplomatic allies will appreciate our willingness to provide aid.
Commenting on criticism regarding a performance by China Airline flight attendants, who sang songs to entertain those attending a banquet that President Ma held on the evening of March 15 for the expatriate community in Guatemala, the president said that the flight attendants had been invited to attend the banquet, so they weren't there as part of their jobs. In the past, China Airlines personnel have also rendered performances of the same general sort at expatriate banquets. Everyone always has a lot of fun, and it really livens up the atmosphere. No one was pressured to perform, nor did they do it to stay in anyone's good graces.
Some have also taken exception to remarks by President Ma that the ROC conducts its foreign aid program in line with three principles: "the purpose must be legitimate," "the process must be lawful," and "the implementation must be effective." Critics argue that by making this statement, President Ma is intruding on the prerogatives of the incoming president. In response to this criticism, President Ma stated that there were a lot of misunderstandings in the past about the ROC's foreign aid policy, so since he took office the government has adhered to the principle that "money must not be squandered." Over the past eight years, a total of NT$16.3 billion has been trimmed from the foreign affairs budget. When a diplomatic ally requests foreign aid, the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs carries out a careful review before undertaking any aid projects, so as to avoid wasting money on unnecessary things. "We've trimmed expenditures, but gotten a lot done. It's not about how much money you spend; the most important thing is policy and how well you implement it."
Among those present at the reception were National Security Council Secretary-General Kao Hua-chu (高華柱), Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin, and ROC Ambassador to Belize Benjamin Ho (何登煌).