Taiwan Today (Monday, July 13, 2015) - President Ma Ying-jeou arrived July 13 in Dominican Republic at the beginning of an eight-day visit to the Caribbean nation and other ROC diplomatic allies Haiti and Nicaragua.
Accompanied by an entourage of more than 80 senior government officials, legislators and business representatives, Ma is scheduled to meet with President Danilo Medina and deliver a speech to the Dominican congress.
While in Haiti, Ma and Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly will inaugurate a new supreme court office building constructed with the support of the ROC. During his tour of Nicaragua, Ma is to meet with President Daniel Ortega and visit Taiwan businesses in the Central American country.
En route to the Dominican Republic, Ma made a stopover July 11 in Boston. He was received by Shen Lyu-shun, ROC representative to the U.S., and Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, at Logan International Airport.
During a dinner banquet with ROC expatriates in Boston, the president said Taipei-Washington ties are at an all-time high since the Taiwan Relations Act took effect in 1979, especially when it comes to security cooperation.
In addition, “a total of 142 countries and territories now grant visa-free or landing visa treatment to ROC nationals,” Ma said. “The privilege underscores the global community’s recognition of the people of Taiwan.”
The president said these achievements are largely attributable to improving cross-strait relations, which are the most stable in 66 years, as evidenced by the nearly 4 million visits by mainland Chinese tourists to Taiwan last year.
Ma said both sides have sought to ensure peaceful co-existence on the principle of the 1992 consensus that there exists only one China but with respective interpretations.
“The consensus was proposed by us in accordance with the ROC Constitution,” Ma said. “By shelving disputes over sovereignty and focusing on enhancing mutual benefits, it is a proven and pragmatic way of promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait ties and regional stability.”
Earlier the same day, Ma was joined by former Premier Jiang Yi-huah in a tour of his alma mater Harvard University, and gave a closed-door speech on campus.
The president is scheduled to return to Taiwan July 18 after a transit in Los Angeles. This is Ma’s 11th official overseas visit since taking office in May 2008. (SFC-JSM)
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