President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of April 21 with Hugh Stephens, Gordon Houlden, and Ron MacIntosh, all former executive directors of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT). The president affirmed the positive contributions made by each of his visitors to the development of bilateral relations, and briefed them on what Taiwan is doing to act as a peacemaker and provider of humanitarian aid in the international community.
In remarks, the president noted that Messrs. Stephens, Houlden, and MacIntosh headed the CTOT in 1995-98, 2004-06, and 2006-09, respectively. They are all old friends of the ROC who have contributed significantly to the bilateral relationship.
President Ma pointed out that bilateral interactions are quite frequent. The two sides since 2010 have had a youth working holiday agreement that currently allows 1,000 young people to participate each year, and demand still exceeds the number of places available. The president stated that his wife Chow Mei-ching (周美青) served as the honorary leader of the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan to participate in the Cultural Olympiad at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Canada, engaging in cultural activities. The CTOT provided valuable assistance on that occasion, and the First Lady received excellent treatment from Canada, for which the president expressed sincere thanks. Canada has granted ROC passport holders visa-free entry since November of 2010, and some 355,000 travelers from Taiwan have benefitted thus far. The number of tourists from Taiwan traveling to Canada has generally grown at a double-digit pace in recent years, and the number of regularly scheduled flights between Taiwan and Canada has increased from 13 to 17 per week, which is a very positive development for both sides.
Commenting on bilateral economic and trade ties, the president stated that Taiwan is Canada's 12th-largest trading partner in the world and its fifth-largest in Asia. Two-way trade in 2015 totaled roughly US$5.5 billion, and two-way foreign direct investment is booming in service sectors like financial services, insurance, and wholesale and retail operations. Canada is Taiwan's largest source of nickel, and third- and fifth-largest source of iron and coal. In addition, during the APEC Leaders' Week activities in the Philippines last November, former ROC Vice President Vincent C. Siew (蕭萬長) interacted closely with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and ROC Minister of Economic Affairs John C. C. Deng (鄧振中) engaged in bilateral talks with Canada's Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland. If the two sides can further enhance their economic and trade ties, said the president, it will certainly help Canadian firms strengthen business dealings in other nations around the Asia-Pacific region.
President Ma further commented that Taiwan and Canada signed an avoidance of double taxation agreement this past January. The domestic legislative action needed to implement it has already been completed, and hopefully the Canadian parliament can do likewise by year's end so that the agreement can enter into force in January of 2017. Implementation of the agreement will create a better investment environment for the people of both nations, and the two sides could start studying the possibility of signing an economic cooperation agreement with an eye to further enhancing bilateral economic and trade relations. In addition, Taiwan is currently the 19th-largest trading nation and 22nd-largest economy in the world, and the ninth-largest trading nation among APEC members. It is actively pursuing admission to such regional economic integration mechanisms as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Taiwan's admission will boost economic development in these two regions, therefore the president expressed hope that the Canadian government can help push for Taiwan's admission.
Upon taking office eight years ago, said the president, he set about the tasks of creating a free, just, and prosperous Taiwan society, and ensuring that Taiwan acts in the international community as a peacemaker and provider of humanitarian aid. Turning to the subject of cross-strait relations, the president stated that the government 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, and to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait ties under the 1992 Consensus—whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. The two sides have signed 23 agreements, and the ministers in charge of cross-strait affairs from each side have met seven times, addressing each other using their official titles. The cumulative number of tourist arrivals from mainland China has topped 18 million, and the number of regularly scheduled direct cross-strait flights has risen from zero to 890 per week. Relations between the two sides are better than ever before, he said.
President Ma pointed out that during his meeting last November in Singapore with mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平), the two reaffirmed their shared view that they should continue to maintain the peaceful and prosperous cross-strait status quo on the basis of the 1992 Consensus. "As long as the future ROC president can follow this model," said the president, "they will also be able to hold high-level meetings with Mr. Xi."
On the subject of regional peace, President Ma remarked that the principle that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared" guided his proposal of the East China Sea Peace Initiative. Not long after this proposal was put forward, the Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Agreement was signed, bringing resolution to a 40-year fisheries dispute. The same line of thinking prompted the government to unveil the South China Sea Peace Initiative in May of 2015, and in November of that same year the ROC and the Philippines signed the Agreement Concerning the Facilitation of Cooperation on Law Enforcement in Fisheries Matters. This agreement has greatly reduced the incidence of fisheries disputes between the two countries in their overlapping exclusive economic zones, and is providing real protections for the lives and property of Taiwan's fishermen.
The president pointed out that Taiwan has provided quite a bit of humanitarian aid in the international community, springing to action in such crises as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the flight of refugees from the Syrian civil war, and earthquakes in Japan. In recent years, the ROC government has worked together with many Taiwanese NGOs to tap into the deep resources available outside the government. Taiwan's Bliss and Wisdom Foundation, for example, has established the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS) on Prince Edward Island in Canada. Some 300 to 400 monastics from Taiwan attend training programs there. GEBIS is also a strong promoter of organic farming and environmental preservation, and adopted local Buffalo Land Provincial Park as a means of promoting relations with the community. The president expressed hope that the governments of Taiwan and Canada will continue to promote more cooperation and projects in this regard to enhance their mutual friendship.