His Excellency Acting Governor General Dr. Emsco Remy, His Excellency Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony, President of the Senate Hon. Claudius Francis, Speaker of the House of Assembly Hon. Peter Foster, Members of Cabinet, Leader of the Opposition Hon. Stephenson King, Members of the Senate, Members of the House of Assembly, Diplomatic Corps, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good evening!
Welcome
On behalf of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), I would like to extend the warmest welcomes to all of you joining us this evening to celebrate the 102nd birthday of my country.
National Development
More than a hundred years ago, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of our nation, formulated a blueprint for building the ROC into an advanced and democratic country. His ideals have now been fully realized in Taiwan, where we enjoy freedom and democracy and live in a prosperous and equal society.
Economic Achievements of Taiwan
The ROC’s foreign exchange reserves reached US$ 409.3 billion ranking fourth in the world. The economic growth rate for the past five years has averaged 2.9%, which marks the second highest rate among Asia’s Four Little Tigers. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Taiwan’s GDP Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) per capita amounted to US$38,749 in 2012, which, among 187 surveyed countries, ranked 19th between Germany and Belgium. In the Global Competitiveness Report 2013-14 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in September of this year, Taiwan was ranked as the 12th most competitive among 148 nations surveyed.
Cross-Strait Relations
Since President Ma Ying-jeou assumed office in May 2008, the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) has strived to improve cross-strait relations and safeguard peace. Consultations with mainland China have been based on the 1992 Consensus “one China, respective interpretations” and the principles of “mutual non-recognition of sovereignty” and “mutual non-denial of the authority to govern.”
Following five years of intense efforts, cross-strait relations have moved from confrontation to reconciliation. Substantive results in this regard include the signing of 19 agreements such as the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), an average of 96 scheduled cross-strait flights each day (670 flights per week), Mainland Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan have increased from 20,000 in 2007 to 2.5 million last year. The tie between the two sides gradually shifts from being stuck in a “vicious cycle” to a win-win “virtuous cycle.”
The East China Sea Peace Initiative
President Ma has committed not only to pursuing peaceful cross-strait relations, but also maintaining regional peace, stability and prosperity. Given the escalating dispute over sovereignty of the Diaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea situation, President Ma proposed the East China Sea Peace Initiative on August 5, 2012 calling on all parties concerned to (1) demonstrate restraint and avoid escalating confrontational acts, (2) to shelve controversies and not abandon dialogue, (3) to respect international law and deal with disputes through peaceful means, (4) to seek consensus and draft a East China Sea Code of Conduct, and (5) to establish a mechanism for cooperation on exploring and developing resources in the East China Sea.
Following the guidance of the Initiative, on April 10, 2013, Taiwan and Japan signed the Fisheries Agreement, thereby resolving a 40-year dispute over fishing rights in the waters surrounding the Diaoyutai Islands. This Agreement demonstrate the concept that “ sovereignty cannot be divided, but natural resources can be shared,” and set an example for future cooperation to maintain regional peace and development.
The ROC continues to expand its international participation.
On September 11 of this year, Mr. Robert Kobeh Gonzalez, President of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), sent a letter to Ms. Shen Chi, Director General of the ROC’s Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), inviting her to lead a delegation as guests to the 38th Session of the Assembly of ICAO.
Saint Lucia’s Strong Support to Taiwan
The Republic of China highly values the cordial relations with St. Lucia. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to the government and people of St. Lucia for supporting Taiwan’s participation in international organizations and the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.
Exchanges between Taiwan and Saint Lucia are thriving
Exchanges of visit are essential to the relations between our two countries. After President of Senate Hon. Claudius Francis and Speaker of the House of Assembly Hon. Peter Foster’s visit to Taiwan last November, the Honourable David Y.L. Lin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, led a delegation to visit Saint Lucia in January, 2013. Minister of External Affairs of St. Lucia, the Honourable Alva Baptiste together with Minister of Social Transformation, the Honourable Harold Dalsan visited Taiwan in March. President Ma Ying-jeou led a delegation to visit St. Lucia and stayed three nights on this beautiful island in August. Mayor Shirley Lewis of Castries and her husband Dr. Vaughan Lewis went to Taiwan to participate the 2013 Asia Pacific Cities Summit in early September.
In terms of people-to-people exchanges, the Helen Folk Dancers were invited to present outstanding cultural performance in Taiwan. There are over 70 students from Saint Lucia currently studying in Taiwan with Taiwan scholarship. More than twenty students have returned to Saint Lucia and established Taiwan Alumni Association in February 2013. Taiwan Youth Ambassadors last July spent two weeks in Saint Lucia hosting 100 young students to exchange ICT and cultural ideas. There are also more than 20 doctors and nurses in 2013 served as medical volunteers in St. Jude Hospital.
Cooperation Projects between Taiwan and Saint Lucia
The cooperation projects between our two countries have made good progress. To name a few, the Banana Black Sigatoka Prevention and Treatment project has increased the banana production by 25%. The Constituency Development Program of first phase was completed last month which created more than 1400 jobs.
The ROC Technical Mission at Union has also contributed tremendously to our bilateral relations. The Mission last year produced 69,000 tilapia fingerling, 709,200 freshwater prawn fry, 148,000 plantlets for farmers, It also held many training workshops nationwide.
In closing, thank you once again for joining us to celebrate the 102nd birthday of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and wish you all good health and prosperity. Please join me in a toast to the cordial relationship between our two countries! Long live the Republic of China and long live Saint Lucia!
Thank you.
