ROC President Ma Ying-jeou said June 26 that Taiwan-U.S. ties are going from strength to strength and he looks forward to seeing greater progress in the relationship, as well as in exchanges with Japan and mainland China.
In the past year there have been significant developments in the East Asia region, with leadership changes in Japan, South Korea and mainland China, Ma said. The situation on the Korean Peninsula is tense, but the ROC remains a force for peace and stability, and the Taiwan Strait has gone from a flashpoint to flourishing trade area, he added.
Ma made the remarks during a meeting with a visiting U.S. delegation of members of the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute for International Affairs at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. Led by Constance Newman, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, the group comprises Alison Fortier, member of the IRI board of directors, and Robin Carnahan and Sam Gejdenson, members of the NDI board of directors.
Ma said the government has worked tirelessly to improve cross-strait relations since he took office in May 2008, concluding 19 bilateral agreements and two consensuses.
There are 86 direct cross-strait flights per day, with 8 million visits across the strait last year. Bilateral trade hit US$160 billion last year, reaffirming that exchanges are at their highest level in 60 years, he added.
Taiwan’s inclusion as the 37th nation in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program Oct. 2, 2012, significantly boosted relations between the two nations, Ma said, adding that this is also important as Taiwan is the only country without formal U.S. diplomatic ties to be included on the list.
Further proof that warming cross-strait ties have strengthened the ROC’s international standing is illustrated by U.S. President Barack Obama’s remarks last month to mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Ma said. Obama told Xi at their meeting in California that the “U.S. government strongly supports efforts by Taiwan and mainland China to improve cross-strait relations in recent years, and hopes both sides will continue to progress in the same manner.”
Ma also said Taiwan has hosted many high-level U.S. delegations over the past year, another sign that bilateral ties are on the right track.
The IRI and NDI are nonpartisan organizations promoting democratic development and providing political parties with the opportunity to participate in international exchanges. They are similar in structure and function to Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. (SDH)
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