President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of March 17 with Harvard University Professor Roderick MacFarquhar and extended a warm welcome to Professor MacFarquhar on his visit here to attend an international academic symposium.
A renowned expert on mainland China and Asian issues who has published prolifically since the 1960s, Professor MacFarquhar is currently a chair professor at Harvard. Besides his academic achievements, Professor MacFarquhar served in the Royal Tank Regiment in Britain during his military service, worked as an editor and specialist at newspapers, was elected as a Member of Parliament, and has been a researcher in many fields. The professor has enormous experience and learning, the president said.
The president stated that over the past two-plus years, the government has strived to improve cross-strait relations with the hope of achieving peace and prosperity. We have seen that this path is viable, but also that we must be extremely careful. In light of mainland China's rise, we must adopt necessary means to maintain the sovereignty of the ROC and Taiwan's dignity, the president remarked, adding that mutual trust has been re-established between Taiwan and the United States at the highest levels. Nonetheless, various issues have yet to be resolved, including the sale of F16 C/D series fighter jets to Taiwan, imports of US beef, the signing of a bilateral extradition agreement, and inclusion of Taiwan in the US Visa Waiver Program. Talks should be held on these issues in a spirit of mutual respect, he commented.
President Ma expressed his desire for long-term peace between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. While the two sides still have disputes on various issues, he said he is confident that the people of the two sides can exercise reason and draw on their shared Chinese culture to pursue a resolution to these issues. But in any case, he explained, regardless of the amount of time it takes, the government will always put top priority on the needs of the public.
Professor MacFarquhar was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Thomas T.S. Cheng to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu.
【Source: Office of the President】