Interview With Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou

Published: January 5, 2012

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Click here to read a transcript of an interview with her main opponent in the race, Tsai Ing-wen.

Q: If you had to cite one accomplishment of your term that you are most proud of, what would that be?

President Ma Ying-jeou: Well, to answer that question, I’ll have to cite six examples: 1) a robust economy, 2) a clean and capable government, 3) a just and equitable society, 4) a sustainable environment, 5) cross-strait peace, and 6) improved foreign relations. These are in fact the six major accomplishments of my first term.

Taking them one by one, last year, we created economic growth of 10.72 percent—the fourth-highest in the world and second-highest in Asia. More importantly, we held inflation to less than 1.5 percent and unemployment dropped to 4.3 percent. We are one of the countries in East Asia with the lowest misery index and wealth gap.

In the category of clean and capable government, Taiwan is ranked sixth worldwide for national competiveness, and has been among the world’s top 10 in terms of government efficiency for two consecutive years. We were one of the five biggest movers in the Corruption Perceptions Index when we jumped to 32 in 2011.

As for fostering a more just and equitable society, this administration over the past four years has introduced more social welfare measures benefiting the greatest number of people, and a larger social-welfare budget than any previous administration.

In the area of sustainable environment, we reversed the past practice of ever-increasing carbon-dioxide emissions. Emissions in 2010 were lower than those in 2008. The air pollution situation is also at an historic best.

As for cross-strait peace, there are now regular direct cross-strait flights, and the two sides are enjoying the best relations in 60 years.

And in the realm of foreign relations, our ties with the United States, Japan, and Asia-Pacific and European countries are the strongest ever. Our diplomatic partnerships have remained unaffected; and 124 nations and territories have granted our citizens visa-free treatment. Sales of defensive arms to us by the United States have been the greatest in a decade.

I am delighted with all these accomplishments. Nevertheless, there’s still room for improvement in each of these areas, and that will require a second term to complete.

Given all these accomplishments, why do you think the election is so close and why some polls suggest that a third of the voters are still undecided?

President Ma: In fact, at present, we enjoy the greatest number of supporters among any of the three presidential tickets. Of course, the race is shaping up to be closely contested. Even though we have achieved many unprecedented accomplishments, the public hopes that we can do better. This is understandable. Take the economy for example. We hope to help more people, but the economic crisis [of 2008] upset our original plans and has led to an unemployment rate today of 4.3 percent as opposed to our target rate of 3 percent. The same is true of the gap between rich and poor. So we need more time to realize our ideals. People are more and more realizing that my staying in office will bring greater prosperity, as well as social fairness, and be better for the environment. We have not publicized our achievements sufficiently; there are many things we have accomplished that people are not aware of. This is an area in which we will indeed improve.

Q: Daniel B. Poneman, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, is set to visit Taiwan this week. According to press accounts, he will be the highest ranking American official to visit Taiwan in a decade. Given how close Taiwan and the U.S. are, does it bother you that high-ranking American officials rarely visit Taiwan because Washington is leery of offending China?

President Ma: We’re pleased to see high-ranking U.S. officials visit Taiwan, as this indicates Taiwan and the U.S. have re-established mutual trust at high levels of government. Over the last four years, we have worked closely with the U.S. While developing our cross-strait policy, we have managed our relationship with the U.S. in such a manner as to avoid surprises and remain low-key. This has helped increase mutual trust to a degree not attained by the previous administration or some others before it.

This is exemplified by remarks made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Hawaii that “Taiwan is a very solid strategic security and economic partner of the United States.” This is the sort of statement high-level U.S. officials would, in the past, have rarely made. Another example is when, at the World Health Assembly in May, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius remarked that no U.N. body had the right to unilaterally determine Taiwan’s status. Such remarks have no precedent. This shows that the bilateral relationship is the best it has been in the last 30 years.