President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) left for Latin America and the Caribbean yesterday for an eight-day state visit, touting his foreign policy of “modus vivendi” and promising there would not be any surprises during the transit stops in the US.
Speaking at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before his departure, Ma said the journey was different from those taken by “the former president of the Republic of China” and that he was confident the different approach would “achieve the same goals.”
Unlike his predecessor, Ma will take commercial plane, rather than a charter flight, for segments of the trip.
Ma said he and his administration have been working hard to improve cross-strait relations since their inauguration in May.
With the establishment of a negotiation framework with Beijing, Ma said cross-strait relations could move forward and that as a result, ties between Taipei and Washington as well as other foreign countries would improve.
While Beijing is now preoccupied with the Olympics, Ma said, both sides would resume negotiations once the Games were over.
His call for cross-strait detente and a diplomatic truce with Beijing were just some of the possible approaches to achieving coexistence and coprosperity, he said.
Ma said he believed “all the Chinese people” on both sides of the Taiwan Strait could find a way to coexist and flourish with their collective wisdom.
Regarding the transfers in Los Angeles en route to Paraguay and San Francisco on the way back, Ma said they would be simple and that he would not engage in any “unrelated” activities during the stops.
Ma dismissed speculation that the arrangement was the result of ineffective negotiations with the US, saying that high-level talks with Washington had gone smoothly and that it was “unnecessary to use transit stops as a front to engage in activities that are unrelated to the trip.”
Ma said he was performing his constitutional duty to conduct the state visit and that he hoped the trip would strengthen the friendship with those countries and bolster Taiwan’s international presence.
The main purpose of the trip is to attend the inaugurations of Paraguayan president-elect Fernando Lugo on Friday and Dominican Republic president-elect Leonel Fernandez on Saturday.
Ma and his delegation are scheduled to return home on Tuesday.
Security was tightened at the airport as Ma left for the visit on a commercial flight.
The tighter security regulations caused long lines at the airport, leaving many travelers disgruntled.
Others, however, were excited to be on the same flight as Ma and hoped to catch a glimpse of the president.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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