US diplomat Burghardt recognizes Taiwan's democratic achievements

Speaking during a meeting with American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt at the Presidential Office, Ma said it was very regrettable to see the shooting at a campaign rally outside Taipei the day before the Nov. 27 polling.

The shooting of Sean Lien, the son of former Vice President Lien Chan, was reminiscent of similar election-eve violence in 2004, when then-President Chen Shui-bian was shot while campaigning for his re-election bid in the southern city of Tainan.

“Violence is relatively rare in Taiwan. It was baffling and unfortunate to witness a recurrence of election eve shooting while our democracy is maturing,” Ma said.

Noting that the case is still under investigation, Ma told his guest that his administration will make a thorough review and take steps to prevent recurrence of similar tragedies.

In response, Burghardt said the smooth conclusion of the municipal elections were yet another democratic achievement for Taiwan.

The way both the ruling Kuomintang and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party handled the incident “was also a sign of political maturity,” said the head of the AIT, a quasi-official organization authorized to handle U.S.-Taiwan relations in the absence of diplomatic ties.

On the just-concluded elections, Ma said the merger and upgrading of some local administrative districts marks a historical milestone in government restructuring.

The expansion and upgrading of two southern cities — Kaohsiung and Tainan — also manifests “our determination to promote balanced development in different parts of the country,” Ma noted.

Touching on Taiwan-U.S. relations, Ma said Taiwan faces great challenges as the balance of military power across the Taiwan Strait is increasingly tilting in Beijing's favor. He urged the U.S. government to sell defensive high-performance jet fighters to Taiwan.

The president also mentioned that the number of countries that offer visa-free privileges to Taiwan passport holders has increased from 53 to 96 since he assumed office in May 2008. Canada and 35 European countries have recently agreed to include Taiwan in their visa-waiver programs.

By now, only 6 percent of countries where Taiwanese people often visit have not yet offered Taiwan visa-free privilege, including the United States, Ma said.

Meanwhile, Ma expressed the hope that a Taiwan-U.S. extradition agreement can be signed soon to pave the way for notorious Taiwanese criminals taking refuge in the U.S. to be repatriated to stand trial or serve their prison terms.

Since Taiwan and China signed a judicial assistance agreement last year, Ma said, cross-strait cooperation in fighting crime has scored encouraging results, with some most-wanted fugitives having been sent home to face justice.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

PrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email