President Ma Ying-jeou met with Governor Mark Parkinson and Mrs. Parkinson of the US State of Kansas at the Presidential Office on the morning of October 20. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), expressed a cordial welcome to Governor and Mrs. Parkinson on their visit to Taiwan.
The president commented that the ROC (Taiwan) and Kansas maintain a deep friendship, with a sister state relationship between the two having been in place for 20 years. Taiwan has a representative office in Kansas and the two sides have frequent economic, educational, and cultural interaction.
President Ma said that relations between Taiwan and the United States have further developed over the past year. In October of last year, the United States agreed to sell Taiwan US$6.4 billion of arms. Meanwhile, in December of last year, Taiwan became a party to the Government Procurement Agreement, and in May of this year the nation participated in the World Health Assembly. All of these were achieved in part due to the strong support and assistance provided by the United States, he said. In early August, Taiwan encountered serious flooding and landslides due to Typhoon Morakot. The United States, he said, dispatched helicopters to assist Taiwan in rescue efforts and also made generous donations. President Ma said the government and people of Taiwan will always remember this display of friendship by the United States.
President Ma also noted that Kansas is home to highly advanced high-tech and aerospace industries. He said he hopes Taiwan and Kansas will be able to engage in industrial cooperation in these areas. The president stressed that since taking office last year, mutual trust between Taiwan and the United States has been restored at the highest levels of government. Bilateral relations are developing steadily, he said, pointing to progress made on issues such as the export of US beef to Taiwan, inclusion of Taiwan under the US visa waiver program, the signing of an extradition treaty between the two, and the resumption of talks associated with a trade and investment framework agreement.
Governor Parkinson expressed his appreciation to President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with him. He stressed that Taiwan is an important economic partner for Kansas and expressed his desire for continued bilateral cooperation in the future. He specifically hopes to see enhanced substantive cooperation in the areas of economic relations, culture, and education.