At the invitation of the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Jordan, ROC President Lee Teng-hui in early April visited these countries, despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties. At the conclusion of his trip on April 4, the president held a press conference at CKS International Airport. Excerpts follow.
Opening Remarks by the President
Let me first say a few words about the background of this trip. Last December, Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan wrote to invite me to visit his kingdom. In February, I also received an invitation from Foreign Minister Hamdan of the United Arab Emirates to visit his country. But it was difficult to arrange an earlier visit that was convenient to all sides. King Hussein of Jordan had hoped that I could be there at the end of February because he was scheduled to visit the United States later. But as you all know, I had to be in Taipei to attend the dedication ceremony for the monument commemorating the February 28, 1947 Incident. So it was finally decided that I make this trip during early April.
Although I visited only two countries on this four-day trip, we should first take a broader look at the current relations between the Republic of China and the Middle East. Since our diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were severed in 1990, we have had no important formal contact in this region. Statistics also show that trade relations between the ROC and Arab states have declined year after year, particularly in 1993 and 1994. I therefore hoped to promote more bilateral relations by visiting the Middle East.
I believe my trip this time can help us achieve our goal of establishing more trade and other economic activity in that region. My visit to three Southeast Asian states [the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand in February 1994] has already proved fruitful. This year our investment and trade with Southeast Asian countries have doubled or even tripled. A visit to a foreign country by the ROC head of state serves to encourage our people, government agencies, and state-run and private enterprises to make an even grater effort to elevate this country’s status in the world economy.
I am deeply impressed by the progress the UAE has made in national construction. The UAE and the Republic of China have very much in common in their development process. The UAE used to be economically backward and started to prosper only after oil was discovered in the 1970s. Ever since President Nahayan assumed the presidency, he has made the most of the local oil industry to gradually lead the UAE to becoming an industrial and commercial society and eventually a modernized country. In comparison, the ROC also relied on a single industry—agriculture—to help develop itself into an industrial and commercial society, and it successfully increased its per capital GNP from US$120 in the 1950s to more than US$12,000 in 1994.
The UAE very much hopes to enhance its relations with the ROC. It is oil-rich and prosperous, but it needs high technology. We can offer the technological know-how it needs. The UAE plays a pivotal role in the Arab world. It is a financial and shipping center in the Gulf region. Its government is very sincere in developing closer relations with this country. If both countries can enhance bilateral ties, this would set an example for other countries in that region.
I did not meet with President Nahayan during this trip because the UAE government was under pressure from the Chinese Communists. But I had a thorough exchange of views with Crown Prince Khalifa and Foreign Minister Hamdan. Though I stayed in the UAE for only twenty-four hours, we had five hours of talks altogether. These yielded very concrete results.
Jordan has a long tradition of friendship with the ROC, even though it broke formal ties with this country [in 1977]. King Hussein had to go to the United States in early April. So I did not have a face-to-face talk with him. But I was accorded all due courtesies and talked with Crown Prince Hassan three times.
At the Casablanca meeting [attended by sixty-one representatives from Middle East countries in early November 1994], the Middle East nations agreed to make concerted efforts to boost their economic development. Meanwhile, the peace agreement signed by Israel and Jordan [on October 26, 1994] prompted the latter to take a new course in its national development. So the first thing Crown Prince Hassan said when we met was that my visit to Jordan signified that both the Republic of China and the Kingdom of Jordan were heading in a new direction, and we had in-depth discussions on the ways and means of strengthening bilateral cooperation to that end.
It is a time when all nations are longing for peace and putting national development at the top of their priority lists. Both the UAE and Jordan hope the Republic of China will give them a helping hand in their national development. The ROC will not be selfish. We will do our utmost to help them develop their economies.
Questions from the Press
Trade and economic strength are instrumental in expanding our external relations. In your view, Mr. President, how should the ROC make the best of its trade and economic strength to promote closer trade relations with the Middle East?
President Lee Teng-hui: The per capita GNP of the UAE is well over US$17,000. The people there turn seawater into drinking water through a desalination process. This is a great task. But generally speaking, its sci-tech development is backward. We can offer some help in this regard.
Jordan is not very progressive in terms of industrial and commercial development, and it is faced with the problem of uneven distribution of wealth, which involves such factors as land distribution and social justice. We can assist the kingdom in economic and technical development.
During this trip you did not meet King Hussein or President Nahayan, nor go to Israel as you had hoped to do. Are you frustrated about this?
Not at all. It is true that I did not see President Nahayan during my visit to the UAE. But I met with Crown Prince Khalifa of Abu Dhabi and we had a thorough discussion. We had substantive exchanges, which is more important than gaining “face.” So I do not feel dissatisfied.
What happened in Jordan was a quite different situation. As I said earlier, King Hussein had hoped that I could visit Jordan by the end of February, but it was inconvenient for me to go abroad at that time. So it was not his fault [that we could not meet]. Besides, he asked Crown Prince Hassan to host us on his behalf. His son, Prince Abudullah, told us that he had called the king several times each day during our two-day visit there and told him everything about our talks. So, contrary to what some may have said, I feel quite satisfied with this trip.
The Chinese Communists did their utmost to prevent you from visiting the Middle East by protesting to the governments in the region. Do you think Beijing should adjust its policy toward Taiwan?
The Chinese Communists have used every means to deny that the ROC is a sovereign state. But no matter what they do, I must once again reiterate that it is an undeniable reality that the Republic of China on Taiwan is a sovereign state. The ROC has been in existence for eighty-four years, while the Chinese Communist authorities have existed for only forty-five years. Regardless of their attempts, the most important thing is that we have a firm stance.
In fact, Beijing authorities had divergent views regarding whether they should try to thwart my visit to the Middle East. Some of them even questioned the necessity of obstructing Taiwan’s international activities. I believe the two Chinese governments on both sides of the Taiwan Straits should stick to the principle that China must be unified. As for which way the divided China should be unified, this is an issue we must think over.
Considerable progress has been made in cross-Straits relations during the past year. Do you think it is time for the leaders of both sides to meet? If so, where should the meeting be held?
I am willing to meet my counterpart in Beijing at an opportune occasion, but the Chinese Communists have been unwilling. They fear that this would make the world think there are two Chinas and that Taiwan is a sovereign state. I sincerely hope that they will become more broad-minded and stop viewing the situation in this way.
In my view, the leaders of both sides can meet each other at any place. But I do not think a meeting at the present time is a good idea. It is better to wait until the mainland’s political situation is stable and its leadership transfer is completed smoothly. By that time, they will have enough confidence to hold such a meeting.
Beijing has intensified its efforts to block us in the international community. How will the ROC respond?
The most important thing is that all of our people must work together to make breakthroughs on our external relations and to safeguard our sovereignty. Why should I as head of state visit a country that has no formal ties with us? It is because our diplomatic personnel could do little in such a case to enhance bilateral relations. By meeting face-to-face with heads of other states, I can exchange views with them and better understand the problems relevant to our relations with these countries.
As all of us can see, the Chinese Communists, who have been repeatedly denying that the ROC is a sovereign state, aim to downgrade us as a local government. This is a very serious issue and there will be no compromise on our part. The ROC has to step out onto the world stage and use its economic, sci-tech, and cultural strength to expand its external relations. This is our basic principle.
At present, the international community has a favorable perception of this country, and this is not something the Chinese Communists can manipulate as they wish to. The ROC is economically successful and enjoys democracy and political freedom, so other democratic countries naturally see this country as a friend. Many of them hope that we will meet for talks. Any attempts by Beijing to hinder such a trend will prove futile.
What role should this country play in the global effort of establishing a new world order?
The new world order has yet to be established. At present, nations around the world are endeavoring to cooperate under the framework of the United Nations. The new world order is gradually emerging along with a strengthening trend toward regionalism.
The ROC has weathered various kinds of difficulties during the past fifty-five years. After the end of the Cold War, we experienced many drastic changes. Our democratization effort has borne fruit, and we have adopted pragmatic diplomacy to expand our external relations. Particularly at a time when the new world order is taking shape, we have to earn for ourselves more international space by, for example, my visits to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, or by at tending the APEC leaders meeting. We should never passively confine ourselves to this island. The ROC has substantial foreign exchange reserves, but many other nations are short of capital for developing their economies. So we should give them a helping hand. In doing so, we can also improve our relations with them.
Do you have any plans to visit Europe in the near future? Also, what do you think we should do to enhance our relations with European nations?
The Republic of China currently enjoys a very close relationship with Europe. Our businesspeople who have invested in European countries have made a lot of money. After Taiwan is developed into a major business operations center for the Asia-Pacific region [under the government’s Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Center plan], European nations will certainly take even more interest in Taiwan because we can serve as a stepping stone for them to gain access to the Chinese mainland and Southeast Asian markets. Regarding your first question, I do have plans to visit Europe but cannot reveal details at this time. I will do so when all the arrangements are made.
—translated by Chen Wen-tsung