[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9030]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO TAIWAN PRESIDENT MA YING-JEOU ON PEACE AND DIPLOMACY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. DONALD M. PAYNE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 9, 2015

  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my unwavering support 
to the people of the Republic of China Taiwan. The United States and 
Taiwan are two like-minded countries. The Taiwanese people share our 
same cultural values of respect for individual liberties, freedom of 
speech, adherence to the rule of law, and support for human rights.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to share a speech entitled 
``True Friendship Lasts Forever'' delivered by Taiwan President Ma 
Ying-jeou on June 2, 2015, at a video conference at Stanford 
University. In his speech, President Ma delineated the importance of 
future cooperation opportunities between our two countries. Below is 
the summary of President Ma's speech. For the full transcript, please 
visit the website of the office of the President of the Republic of 
China: http://www.president.gov.tw.
  ``I am very happy to be here for today's videoconference. This year 
marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, as well as the 
Republic of China's (ROC) victory in the War of Resistance Against 
Japan. In July 1937, two years before World War II broke out, ROC 
forces began fighting against Japanese aggression alone, and for four 
long years, they continued with virtually no outside help. It wasn't 
until the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941 that the ROC joined 
forces with the Allies to declare war against Japan, Germany, and 
Italy.
  Although the ROC and U.S. severed diplomatic ties in 1979, barely 
three months later, the U.S. Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act 
(TRA). Under that Act, Taiwan is treated as a foreign government for 
purposes of U.S. law and in U.S. courts. The Act also requires the U.S. 
to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons.
  Since I came into office in 2008, mutual ROC-U.S. trust has been 
restored at the highest levels of government. And over the past two 
years, there have been frequent, reciprocal visits by high-level 
officials. In April 2014, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
Administrator Gina McCarthy visited Taiwan, and Charles Rivkin, 
Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs is 
visiting Taiwan now. At the same time, heads of various ROC government 
agencies have visited the U.S., so there is a solid foundation of 
mutual trust there.
  In addition to strong security ties, Taiwan-U.S. trade relations have 
also made significant progress over the last few years. In March 2013, 
after a five-year hiatus, we reopened negotiations with the U.S. under 
the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), a platform set up 
in 1994 to facilitate talks in trade and investment matters. We have 
continued bilateral consultations in a series of 12 work conferences, 
and have made significant progress. At the end of March 2015, the ROC 
is America's 10th largest trading partner, surpassing Brazil and Saudi 
Arabia, and the U.S. is Taiwan's third largest, after mainland China 
and Japan.
  Let me turn to cross-strait relations. Over the past seven years, 
Taiwan and mainland China have signed 21 agreements. During that same 
period, visitors from mainland China have made over 14 million trips to 
Taiwan, almost four million of them in the past year alone. So the 
cross-strait situation is more stable and peaceful than it has ever 
been in the past 66 years.
  In addition to seeking stable development in cross-strait and ROC-
U.S. relations, Taiwan has also taken concrete actions over the past 
few years to be a regional peacemaker in both the East China Sea, and 
the South China Sea. Back in August 2012, I proposed the East China Sea 
Peace Initiative. That Initiative asks stakeholders to forgo conflict 
in favor of peaceful negotiations, and emphasizes cooperation in 
sharing resources. Eight months later in April 2013, Taiwan and Japan 
signed a fisheries agreement that embodies the spirit of that 
Initiative, and solved a fisheries dispute between Taiwan and Japan 
that has troubled both countries for 40 years. That agreement elicited 
widespread praise and support from the global community. Secretary of 
State John Kerry has publicly stated that the ROC-Japan fisheries 
agreement is a model for promoting regional stability, and that the 
principles at the heart of the East China Sea Peace Initiative apply to 
all of the waters in Asia.
  In the East China Sea, the East China Sea Peace Initiative encourages 
stakeholders to shelve their disputes, and cooperate to create win-win 
situations. Its success makes it a model for peaceful development in 
the South China Sea. On May 26, 2015, I formally announced the South 
China Sea Peace Initiative, hoping that the relevant parties will: 
``shelve sovereignty dispute, pursue peace and reciprocity, and promote 
joint exploration and development.'' By upholding those principles, we 
hope that all the parties involved will work together to maintain 
regional peace and promote regional development. A U.S. State 
Department official stated that the U.S. appreciates the proposals in 
the South China Sea Peace Initiative. I sincerely hope that all of the 
outstanding scholars and experts gathered here will support the pursuit 
of peace.''
  Mr. Speaker, this tribute recognizes the importance of the 
relationship between the United States and the Republic of China Taiwan 
as strategic partners under the Taiwan Relations Act.

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