Ma lauds substantive Taipei-Washington ties

2015/10/15

President Ma Ying-jeou praised the substantive advances in Taiwan-U.S. relations and said he expects two-way collaboration to deepen in many areas of mutual interest.

“Since I took office in May 2008, the low-key and surprise-free approach adopted by the government has helped restore mutual trust between Taipei and Washington and taken two-way exchanges to their highest level in 36 years,” Ma said Oct. 13.

“This healthy state of affairs is underscored by Taiwan’s description as a vital security and economic partner of the U.S. in Asia by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, his predecessor Hillary Clinton, as well as Susan Thornton, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs.”

Ma made the remarks during a reception for a delegation from the U.S. National Association of Attorneys General at the Presidential Office in Taipei City.

The president noted that strong bilateral ties are further illustrated by Taiwan’s inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in November 2012. “The fact that Taiwan is the only VWP country without formal diplomatic relations with the U.S. is evidence of the close security, economic and people-to-people ties between the two sides.”

Such a robust partnership extends to other global initiatives as well, including the Pacific Islands Leadership Program launched in 2012 and the International Environmental Partnership in 2014, as well as last year’s collaborative efforts to fight Ebola in Africa, he added

In addition, Taiwan was listed as a Tier-1 member for the sixth consecutive year in the Trafficking in Persons Report published by the U.S. Department of State. Ma said this achievement is but a small part of the government’s vigorous efforts to prevent crimes over the last seven years.

“During this period, Taiwan has seen substantial results in maintaining public security, with enhanced law enforcement paying handsome dividends,” he said. “The annual total of criminal offenses dropped to 300,000 in 2014, down from over 490,000 in 2007, while the clearance rate shot up to 86 percent from 75 percent.”

Regional partnerships have also played an instrumental role in crime reduction, the president said, citing the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement of 2009.

“The pact signaled the beginning of a new era in mutual trust between Taiwan and mainland China. By facilitating the apprehension and extradition of criminals across the strait, we have jointly cracked down on 99 serious felonies while arresting over 6,000 offenders as of March this year.”

Ma said he expects Taiwan to continue expanding judicial collaboration with governments around the world, while the nation continues to play its part as a responsible member of the international community.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=237762&ctNode=2194&mp=9)