PM King praises President Ma’s achievements on 2nd anniversary
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Contact: Embassy of Taiwan
Wednesday 19 May 2010 – Honourable Stephenson King, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, extended his congratulatory sentiments in a letter to H. E. Ma Ying-jeou, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on the occasion of the 2nd anniversary of his assumption to the office of the Presidency on 20th May, and good wishes for the continued prosperity of the R.O.C. (Taiwan). King commended that over the years the two countries have developed very close ties, which have been further cemented since Ma assumed the Presidency, and “Taiwan” now is a household name in Saint Lucia. It is a development which has been facilitated by the numerous grassroots projects implemented at the community level with the support of Taiwan. The Prime Minister did not neglect the fact of the numerous exchanges whereby delegations from Saint Lucia have visited Taiwan and vice versa. He also highlighted that many young Saint Lucians are now benefiting from the opportunity of pursuing their education in Taiwan, thereby learning more about Taiwan’s culture, customs and values. All can only serve to bring our people even closer together. Whenever the opportunity has arisen, Saint Lucia has lent its voice to the call for Taiwan to be recognized and hold its rightful place within the institutions of the international community, added the Prime Minister. He reiterated that Saint Lucia will continue to champion this cause, not only because of the close relations that the two countries enjoy, but because Saint Lucia believes that it is right. Therefore, Saint Lucia looks forward to the day when, through whatever mechanism the people of Taiwan choose, the R.O.C. (Taiwan) can be a fully accepted and recognised member of the international community. In conclusion, Prime Minister King congratulated President Ma on his achievements during his first two years in office, and wished that under President Ma’s leadership, Taiwan and its people will continue to progress, notwithstanding the many challenges that may be encountered. In Taiwan, President Ma Ying-jeou spoke of the coming “golden decade” for Taiwan while outlining his vision for the nation’s future at a news conference on the eve of his second year in office. “I will do whatever benefits Taiwan and its people,” Ma said during his “Stride Forward, Create a Golden Decade” address delivered before a contingent of local and foreign media representatives at the Presidential Office 19th May. Ma said the Kuomintang administration has succeeded in cracking down on corruption, promoting human rights, reforming financial policies, reaching consensus with the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, initiating cross-strait dialogue, and expanding Taiwan’s international space. He continued by saying that there are no longer corruption scandals involving government officials or improper political interference in the judicial system under his leadership. He believed the second half of his term will go down in the annals of ROC history as a “golden decade.” To achieve this, the President plans to employ six strategies covering innovation, culture, environmental protection, constitutional consolidation, social welfare and peace. Stressing the importance of innovation in maintaining a country’s competitiveness, Ma said Taiwan’s industrial and financial structures must be changed as soon as possible. “The government will focus on developing high-end technology in a bid to bolster industrial competitiveness.” The island’s unique cultural heritage is also expected to play a part in reinvigorating the country, President Ma said. “We have a special local culture with Chinese features. The government plans to use this in expanding Taiwan’s soft power.” Environmental protection is another important area that Ma believes must be addressed posthaste. “Global warming has brought a multitude of natural disasters to the world,” he said. “It is imperative we take preventive measures rather than seeking band-aid remedies.” Ma said part of this strategy includes enhancing energy efficiency, building low-carbon communities, using renewable energy, and promoting eco-friendly green industries such as the LED lighting sector. Of equal importance, the President said, is consolidating the island’s vibrant democracy with constitutional principles, clean politics and enhanced government efficiency. Similarly, creating a strong social welfare net for Taiwan’s 23 million people is key to reinforcing gains made in constitutional consolidation, Ma said. The President added that all of these strategies would be protected by a cocoon of peaceful Taipei-Beijing relations negotiated under his watch. “I will use peace to build a new cross-strait order,” he said. In the past two years, 12 agreements were signed between Taipei and Beijing to address practical issues the both sides need. It is a common hope by the two sides that an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement can be inked some time in June 2010. In foreign policy, Taiwan has replaced "aggressive diplomacy" with "flexible diplomacy," calling an end to the vicious competition with China for diplomatic allies. Under such an approach, Taiwan has managed to rebuild trust with the United States and Japan and has been invited to attend the World Health Assembly as an observer for the second consecutive year, with the help of diplomatic allies like Saint Lucia and friendly countries across the globe.
With various measures taken by the government, Taiwan's economy has shown obvious signs of recovery, with double-digit economic growth projected for the first quarter of 2010, Ma said. The growth rate for the whole year is likely to reach 6.5 percent according to a forecast by the International Monetary Fund, President Ma stressed. He went on to point out that Taiwan has also shown major improvement in its international competitiveness, as seen in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2010 to be formally released later Wednesday by the Swiss International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in which Taiwan's ranking moved up 15 notches to eighth. |
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