President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said cross-strait relations were the best in 60 years and that Taiwan’s relations with the US must be conducted in a “low-key” and “surprise-free” fashion.
Taiwan-US ties have become closer and more frequent than ever since he took office two years ago, Ma said while meeting members of the Center for Strategic and International Studies at the Presidential Office.
“We have emphasized again and again that the relations between Taiwan and the US should be conducted in a low-key and surprise-free manner,” he said.
TAIWAN-US RELATIONS
Ma said that since he assumed office, Taipei and Washington have swiftly restored mutual trust between high-level officials through various channels.
The reconstruction of high-level trust was manifested in the two arms purchase packages approved by two US administrations, totaling US$13.2 billion, which were the largest over the past two years, Ma said.
Cross-strait ties have also been greatly repaired, he said, noting that Taipei and Beijing not only resumed institutionalized negotiations less than a month into his presidency but have also signed 14 agreements, including the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA).
“Bilateral relations have been the closest over the past 60 years,” he said.
According to Ma, those agreements have produced positive effects including easing cross-strait tensions, boosting the tourism industry and resolving many longstanding problems such as the hiring of Chinese fishery workers, telephone scams and violation of intellectual property rights.
CONCERNS ‘RECOGNIZED’
Ma said despite the “peace dividends,” he understood that “only a few people” were worried whether his administration’s cross-strait policy was overly reliant on the Chinese market and whether closer economic ties would undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty and dignity.
“We are very careful about that,” he said. “When we sign those agreements, we adhere to the principle of dignity, equality and reciprocity so that the sovereignty and dignity of the Republic of China are protected.”
Ma said that since Taipei and Beijing signed the ECFA, Singapore has also expressed interest in exploring the possibility of signing a free-trade agreement with Taiwan and that consultations with the US on inking a trade and investment framework agreement would soon resume. He added that the government is also testing the waters with other countries and territories such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the EU and ASEAN.
“All these are happening mainly because those countries no longer need to chose sides between Taipei and Beijing due to the improvement of cross-strait ties,” he said. “We want to not only deepen cross-strait relations, but also provide greater incentives and increase our confidence. We believe this will form a benign cycle.”
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