Foreign Relations. ROC (Taiwan) Yearbook 2011 Ch05 foreign relations

On a trip to the ROC’s South Pacific ally Nauru in March 2010, President Ma Ying-jeou visits a Nauruan family who painted the ROC’s national flag on their house in a show of friendship. (Courtesy of the Office of the President)

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At a Glance

As a vibrant multiparty democracy, an economic powerhouse and a major provider of humanitarian and development assis-tance, the Republic of China plays an important role in world affairs. Though not a member of many major international or-

ganizations, it strives to cultivate mutually beneficial interactions with all nations and to contribute to cooperative ventures of critical signifi-cance to mankind.

Since President Ma Ying-jeou assumed office in mid-2008, the ROC’s

foreign policy has been guided by a philosophy of “viable diplomacy,”

with the principal aim of redirecting resources previously squandered

on counterproductive competition in the international arena with main-

land China to the task of improving people’s lives.

• Viablediplomacy:deepeningrelationswiththeworld

• Givingback:internationalhumanitarianaidanddevelopmentcooperation

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Foreign Policy Viable Diplomacy

Since President Ma Ying-jeou tookoffice in May 2008, his administrationhaspursuedanewapproachtoengagingthe international community known as“viablediplomacy”活路外交.Thegeneralaimistoremoveobstaclesthathavepre-vented the Republic of China (Taiwan)from cooperating more effectively withothernationsbilaterallyand through in-ternationalforums.

Before President Ma’s inauguration,the main hindrance to such internationalcooperation was hostile competition be-tween the ROC government in Taipei 臺

北 and the Chinese Communist Party-ledgovernmentinBeijingfordiplomaticrec-ognition.Overaperiodofsixdecades,thetwogovernmentsexpendedvastresourcesto secure support for their respectivestances in a sovereignty dispute that haspersisted since 1949, making the TaiwanStraitapotentialflashpointforarmedcon-flictwithsevereimplicationsfortheentireworld(seeChapter3,“History”).

Cross-strait relations have warmednotably, however, since the two sidesshelvedsovereigntyissuesin2008andre-sumedtalksaimedatreachingagreementsonmutuallybeneficialeconomicandcivilinterchange and creating an environmentconducivetolong-lastingpeaceandpros-perity. The subsequent improvement inrelationshasallowedtheROCtoredirectdiplomatic resources toward enhancingsubstantive ties with world nations (seeChapter6,“Cross-straitRelations”).

Participation in International Bodies

Currently, theROChas fullmember-ship in 32 intergovernmental organiza-tions (IGOs)and their subsidiarybodies.

These include the Asian DevelopmentBank; the World Trade Organization(WTO), which Taiwan joined under thename “Separate Customs Territory ofTaiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu”;and theAsia-Pacific Economic Coopera-tion (APEC) forum, in which it partici-pates as “Chinese Taipei”—a name thecountryalsousesforitsnationalOlympicCommittee and in the World HealthAs-sembly(WHA).Inaddition,theROChasobserverstatusorothermembershipin19otherIGOsortheirsubsidiarybodies.

By participating in these organiza-tions, theROCseeksnot only todefendthe rights and interestsof itspeople,butalso to forge friendships with other na-tions and develop initiatives that benefittheworldasawhole.

United Nations In the spirit of viable diplomacy, the

ROC’s U.N.-related initiatives focus onmeaningfulparticipationinU.N.special-ized agencies and mechanisms that ad-dress issues pertaining to the welfare ofits people and its national development.While full membership in the worldbodycurrently remainsdistant, theROCis seeking every practical, feasible andinnovative means of meaningful partici-pation, such as first becoming involvedas an observer. The ROC government’sadoption of this pragmatic approach hasenabledittotakepartinagreaternumberof international forums than before. Inparticular,TaiwanhasbeeninvitedtotheWHAannualmeetingas anobserver forthreeconsecutiveyearssince2009.

Thegovernmentisfollowingthesameapproach in seeking participation in theU.N.’s other specialized agencies andmechanisms,withparticularfocusontheInternationalCivilAviationOrganization(ICAO) and activities under the UnitedNations Framework Convention on Cli-mateChange(UNFCCC).


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Since announcing its intention to doso in September 2009, the ROC has re-ceived substantial international support.Manyofitsdiplomaticpartnershavesentletters to the ICAO’s secretary-generalandtotheUNFCCC’sexecutivesecretary,or made remarks favorable to the ROCat theUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly,the ICAO Assembly and the UNFCCCConference of the Parties, respectively,in support of theROC’smeaningful anddirectparticipationintheiractivities.Nu-merous parliamentary bodies—includingthe European Parliament, the UnitedStates House of Representatives and theAustralianSenate—havealsopassedsup-portiveresolutions.

In June 2010, Environmental Protec-tionAdministration 行政院環境保護署 Min-ister Shen Shu-hung 沈世宏 informed theUNFCCC Secretariat that the ROC willtakeconcretemeasurestoreduceitsgreen-housegasemissionsbyatleast30percentrelative to the “business-as-usual” bench-markbefore2020. In recognitionof suchresponsibilityandeffortstofulfillthisgoal,itisimperativethattheROCbeaccordedat least observer status in the UNFCCCConference of the Parties, thereby en-ablingittomoreeffectivelycontributetotheworkofcombatingandrespondingtothechallengesofglobalwarming.

World Trade OrganizationSince its accession to the WTO in

2002, the ROC has faithfully imple-mented its obligations under WTO rulesand,throughitspermanentmissionbasedat theWTOheadquarters inGeneva,hascontinued to participate actively in theDohaDevelopmentAgenda(DDA)nego-tiations. To fulfill its accession commit-ment,theROCbecamethe41stsignatorytotheplurilateralAgreementonGovern-ment Procurement on July 15, 2009 andsuccessfully concluded its second TradePolicyReviewinJuly2010,presentinga

comprehensive picture of its trade poli-ciesandpracticesaswellasreiteratingitsdeterminationtocooperateconstructivelywith other WTO members to promptlycomplete the Doha Round with a mean-ingfulandbalancedoutcome.

AsagenuinesupporteroftheAidforTradeinitiativeoftheWTO,theROCbe-lieves thatdomesticdevelopment factorsshouldbeconsideredinallDDAnegotia-tions.Toensurethatdevelopingcountriesandleastdevelopedcountries(LDCs)arebetterintegratedintothemultilateraltrad-ingsystem,theROChasofferedfinancialsupporttohelpLDCdelegationstakepartinthe7thMinisterialConferencein2009and continues to provide technical as-sistance and capacity building programsin cooperation with partner countriesthrough its International Cooperationand Development Fund (TaiwanICDF)國際合作發展基金會. In 2010 the govern-ment contributed to the Standards andTradeDevelopmentFacility trust fund,ajoint initiative by the Food andAgricul-ture Organization, World Organizationfor Animal Health, World Bank, WorldHealth Organization (WHO) and WTO,inanefforttoassistdevelopingcountriesinimprovingtheircapacitytoimplementinternational sanitary and phytosanitarymeasuresandtogainbetteraccesstoex-portmarkets.

In order to address core negotiationissues and advance common interests,the ROC has endeavored to engage intrade talksonall frontsby joiningvari-ous negotiating subgroups, such as theGroup of Recently Acceded Members,G-10 and the Friends of Anti-dumpingNegotiations. In addition, the govern-ment is looking to expand trade andeconomic relations by taking part inaccession negotiations with prospec-tive new members, including Belarus,Laos,Lebanon,Kazakhstan,Uzbekistan,AzerbaijanandTajikistan.


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TheROCalsoparticipatesintheDis-puteSettlementMechanismtoensurethatits interests are protected. In 2008, thegovernmentbroughtitsfirstcase,togetherwithtwoco-complainants—JapanandtheUnitedStates—to theDisputeSettlementBody(DSB),against theEuropeanCom-munitiesanditsMemberStates(ECMS),over their tariff treatment of certain in-formation technologyproducts.TheDSBpaneladoptedafinalreportinSeptember2010,confirmingthattheECMS—today’sEuropean Union—had violated its obli-gations under the WTO and that tariffsimposedonthedisputedproductsmustbeabolished.TheEuropeanUnionindicatedin October 2010 that it would bring itsrelevantmeasures inconformitywith thefinal reportwithina reasonableperiodoftime, and subsequently agreed with theROCthat thiswouldbeninemonthsandninedaysfromthedateoftheDSBruling.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Since joining APEC in 1991, theROC has been working closely with

its fellow APEC member economiesto promote sustained economic growththrough commitments to trade andinvestment liberalization, business fa-cilitation, and economic and technicalcooperation in the region. It has playeda proactive role inAPEC meetings andactivities in numerous realms: agricul-tural technology, fisheries and marineresource conservation, human resourcedevelopment, intellectualproperty rightsprotection, telecommunications andinformation, development of small andmedium-sized enterprises (SME), tour-ism, energy efficiency, public health,emergencypreparedness,climatechange,anti-corruptionandcounterterrorism.

BetweenAugust 2004 andDecember2010,theROCestablished69APECDig-italOpportunityCentersin10APECpart-ner member economies. Consequently,trainingatthesecentershasbeenprovid-ed 165,000 person-times, giving peopleaccesstodigitalopportunitiestoimprovetheirbusinesses,jobs,studiesandoverallquality of life. In particular, the numberof femaleparticipants increased from16percentin2005to49percentin2010.

The founding ceremony of the SME Crisis Management Center, the first in Taiwan overseen by APEC. The center opened in Taipei in May 2010 and works with small and medium-sized enterprises to enhance their abilities to overcome the impacts of global economic challenges.


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President Ma designated formerVicePresidentLienChan 連戰 ashisrepresen-tative to the APEC Economic Leaders’MeetingsheldinLima(2008),Singapore(2009)andYokohama(2010).Lienisthehighest-ranking former official to haveattended the meeting in the president’ssteadsincethenationjoinedthismultilat-eraleconomicandtradeforum.

In 2010, the ROC participated inover 200APEC activities and hosted 19APEC-related meetings and workshops.The APEC Business Advisory Councilmeeting held in Taipei from May 17 toMay 21 drew over 170 delegates fromAPEC’s 21 member economies. TheAPEC SME Crisis Management Center,which opened in Taipei in May 2010,aims to enhance the ability of SMEs tocope with economic crises. The APECResearchCenterforTyphoonandSociety,established inTaipei inNovember2010,servesasaplatformforbringingtogetherrelevantregionalresearch,andforestab-lishinganeffectiveearlywarningsystemand information-sharing network. Bothindependently and in partnership withother member economies, the ROC willcontinuetomakesignificantcontributionstoimprovingthequalityoflifeforpeopleintheAPECcommunityandtoachievinggrowth, peace and prosperity throughouttheAsia-Pacificregion.

Development and Humanitarian AssistancePolicy

In linewith theprinciplesof “propergoals, legal processes and effective ad-ministration,”theMinistryofForeignAf-fairs(MOFA)inMay2009publishedtheWhite Paper on Foreign Aid Policy: Part-nerships for Progress and Sustainable Development 援外政策白皮書：進步夥伴、永

續發展,outliningkeygoalsandstrategies

fortheROC’sforeignaidpolicy(seebox“WhitePaperonForeignAidPolicy”).

The International Cooperation andDevelopmentAct國際合作發展法,promul-gatedJune15,2010,isalandmarkstatutethatprovidesalegalbasisandservesasaguidelinefortheROC’sforeignaidactiv-ities.Draftedby theMOFAanddrawingontheParisDeclarationonAidEffective-ness of the Organization for EconomicCooperation and Development, the Actaims to bring Taiwan’s international co-operation and development projects inlinewithinternationalnorms.

The International Cooperation andDevelopment Act designates the MOFAas the key organization responsible forhandlingforeignaidaffairsandforcoor-dinating related efforts by other govern-ment agencies. The Act also authorizestheMOFAtoentrustforeignaidworktoTaiwanICDFaswellastoprivateorgani-zationsandprofessionals.

International Cooperation Development Fund

The TaiwanICDF was established in1996 as an independent organization toimplement government-funded foreignaid programs. The organization’s corecompetenciesincludelendingandinvest-ment,technicalcooperation,humanitarianassistance, and international educationand training.As of the end of 2010, theorganizationhad established29overseastechnicalmissions,principally inCentralandSouthAmerica,theCaribbean,AfricaandthePacific.

The TaiwanICDF’s lending and in-vestment activities range from providingmicro-financing to funding large-scaleinfrastructureprojects,andfromassistingprivate-sector growth to boosting socialdevelopment. In 2010, the organizationworkedonseveralnewlendingprojectsinthese and other fields, with an emphasisonagriculturalfinance.


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The organization also nurtures aca-demic talent through its Higher Educa-tionScholarshipProgram,whichenablesforeign students to pursue a range ofundergraduate and post-graduate degreeprogramsatuniversitiesintheROC.Themain focus of these scholarships is onsustainable agricultural development,public health and medicine, science andtechnology,thehumanitiesandsocialsci-ences, and private-sector development.Meanwhile, the MOFA also providesTaiwan Scholarships to foreign studentsforhighereducation inabroadervarietyoffields.Todate,over1,400foreignstu-dentshavebenefitedfromthetwoschol-arshipprograms.

More widely, the goal of educa-tion and training operations at theTaiwanICDF is to spur social and eco-nomicprogressbyassistingpartnercoun-triestoexpandandimprovetheirpoolofhumanresources.Tothisend,theorgani-zationconducts seminars andworkshopson Taiwan’s own development experi-ences for participants from around theworld.Twentyworkshopswereorganized

in2010,coveringadiverserangeofsub-jects such as health care management,WTOtechnicalbarrierstotradeandtradepromotion, tourism, media development,SMEs, natural disaster management,agribusiness, waste management, foodsafety,humancapitalmanagement,urbanplanning,women’sdevelopment,climatechangeandnaturalresourcemanagement,andeconomicplanninganddevelopment.

In the event of natural disasters, theTaiwanICDF offers timely assistance incooperation with like-minded public andprivate organizations. When Haiti wasstruck by a devastating earthquake inJanuary2010,theorganizationrespondedimmediatelybydispatchingajointmedi-calteamwithTaiwanRootMedicalPeaceCorps 台灣路竹會. The organization alsoprovided World Vision with emergencytents and shipped 800 tonnes of rice toFoodforthePoorfordistributionamongsurvivors. To support Haiti’s long-termrecovery, the TaiwanICDF is conductingthe Haiti Earthquake Calamity RecoveryAssistance Project, covering basic train-ing for construction workers, increased

White Paper on Foreign Aid Policy:Partnerships for Progress and Sustainable Development

Inthe1950s,theROCwasthebeneficiaryofapproximatelyUS$100millioninforeignaideachyear,equivalenttoabout9percentofitsgrossdomesticproductatthetime.Thankstosuchaid,itmanagedtogetthroughthehardpost-waryearsandcreatean“economicmiracle.”

Grateful for such generosity, the ROC people feel morally obligated to help out othersocietiesinneed.Overthepastfivedecades,theROChasprovidedhundredsofmillionsofdollars’worthoffinancial,materialandtechnicalaid,accumulatinganabundanceofvaluableexperienceandalonglistofaccomplishmentsintheprocess.

Since“viablediplomacy”wasestablishedasacorepolicyinitiativein2008,ithasbeenstressed that the nation’s international assistance programs must be designed with propergoalsinmind,conformingtolegalprocessesandimplementedeffectively.Inlinewiththeseprinciples, the MOFA has performed a comprehensive review of the ROC’s foreign aid,whosefindingshavebeenpublishedinMay2009astheWhite Paper on Foreign Aid Policy: Partnerships for Progress and Sustainable Development.

Clearlyoutliningthekeythemes,goals,strategiesandmeasuresoftheROC’sforeignaidpolicy,thedocumentalsoconstitutesadeclarationtoROCcitizensandtheworldatlargethattheROCgovernment isdeterminedtoupholdthehighestmoralandprofessionalstandardsandexpandthescopeofitshumanitarianundertakings.


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productionofgrains,andtrainingfortheproduction of bamboo handicrafts. Thetotalcostof theproject isapproximatelyUS$2.4million.

Elsewhere, international humanitarianassistancebytheTaiwanICDFhasmainlyfocusedon emergency relief andpovertyalleviation. In recent years, the organiza-tion has collaborated with Mercy Corps,theRedCrossSocietyoftheRepublicofChina,WorldVisionTaiwan,theEsperan-zadeVida inGuatemalaandother inter-national nongovernmental organizations(INGOs)toprovidenaturaldisasterreliefand post-disaster reconstruction aid inLatinAmericanandCaribbeancountries.

Toutilize the talentsofROCcitizenswho are eager to share their know-how

while learning from other cultures, theTaiwanICDFrecruitsmedics, techniciansand agricultural experts to serve abroad.ItalsodirectstheTaiwanYouthOverseasService 外交替代役, through which youngmenperformhumanitarianserviceabroadinplaceofmilitaryserviceathome.Since1996, 509 experts have been dispatchedtooperatetechnicalandmedicalmissionsoverseas, while 710 alternative service-menhavecontributedtotheworkofsuchmissionssince2001.

Contributions by Nongovernmental Organizations

The ROC has carried out long-termhumanitarian and environmental projectsinEastAsiaandSoutheastAsiaincollab-orationwithsuchINGOsastheSumatranOrangutanSociety,ResearchTriangle In-stituteInternational, theHumptyDumptyInstitute,theThailandBurmaBorderCon-sortiumandHandicapsEnfantssansFron-tière. Through such interaction, Taiwanhas also facilitated the participation ofTaiwanese nongovernmental organiza-tions (NGO) in cooperative internationalventures.Further,ithasconductednumer-ousNGOtrainingprograms,seminarsandpresentations and has provided grants toNGOmanagerstoreceivetrainingabroadandmakestudyvisitstoINGOs.

Private Taiwanese groups providinginternational assistance in 2010 includedthe Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps,which delivered medical services tocountries such as Guatemala, Honduras,NicaraguaandthePhilippines;theTaipeiOverseas Peace Service 台北海外和平服

務團, which continued its decades-longwork of providing primary education torefugee children in Thailand; and WorldVision Taiwan and the Taiwan Fund forChildren and Families 台灣兒童暨家庭扶助

基金會, which helped thousands of chil-dren around the globe with both publicandprivatesupport.

Taiwan’s technical missions in the island nations of the Pacific are committed to promoting sustainable agriculture. The picture shows a trainee working with seedlings at a demonstration farm in Tuvalu.


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Meanwhile, the Buddhist Compas-sion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation 佛教慈濟

慈善事業基金會, the world’s largest Bud-dhist charitywith some10million regu-lar financial supporters worldwide and2 million volunteer workers serving in61 countries, provided medical services,emergency relief and various types oflong-term assistance all over the world.Typically,theyhavebeenamongthefirsttoreachthescenesofmajornaturaldisas-ters, including the Japan earthquake andtsunamiinMarch2011.

World-renowned international orga-nizations dedicated to global agriculturaldevelopment that were founded decadesagoandcontinuetooperateintheROCin-cludeAVRDC-TheWorldVegetableCen-terandtheFoodandFertilizerTechnologyCenterundertheAsianPacificCouncil.

Bilateral Ties Through its partnerships with na-

tions the world over, the ROC seeks toadvance common agendas of benefit toall. It has full diplomatic relations with23 states, including 12 in Central andSouthAmericaandtheCaribbean,fourin

Africa,sixinOceaniaandoneinEurope.In 2010, it maintained 91 representativeofficesinthecapitalsandmajorcitiesof57countries.Meanwhile,theROC’sdip-lomatic partners, other countries and theEuropeanUnionmaintained68embassiesorrepresentativeofficesinTaiwan.

The ROC has also signed workingholiday programs with six countries—Australia,Canada,Germany,Japan,NewZealand and South Korea—allowingyoungpeople fromTaiwan to live,workandvacation in thosecountries forup to12 months. Additionally, the number ofcountries and territories extending visa-free or landing visa privileges to ROCpassport holders has climbed from 53whenPresidentMaenteredofficeinMay2008to124asofOctober2011.

Diplomatic PartnersTheROChas close relationswith its

diplomaticpartnersinLatinAmericaandthe Caribbean. Countless instances offruitfulcooperationbetweenthemcanbecitedinareassuchasthedevelopmentofSMEs, agriculture, forestry, fishery, ani-malhusbandry, environmental protectionandtourism.

Vice President Vincent Siew (front center) stands with representatives from other nations at a ceremony celebrating Paraguay’s bicentennial in May 2011.(Courtesy of the Office of the President)


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In January 2010, President Ma jour-neyed to Central America to attend theinauguration of Honduran PresidentPorfirio Lobo Sosa as well as to meetwiththeDominicanRepublic’sPresidentLeonel Fernández Reyna and Haiti’sPrime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive tounderstand relief efforts in the wake oftheJanuary12earthquakethatdevastatedHaiti.PresidentMa’splaneunloaded10tonnesofreliefsuppliesintheDominicanRepublic fordeliveryby truck toneigh-boring Haiti. In total, the ROC govern-ment and private sector donated US$16million in cash and relief supplies toHaiti forpost-disasteraid.InMay2011,Taiwan also donated US$300,000 to thePan American Development FoundationundertheOrganizationofAmericanStatesto supportpost-earthquake reconstructionandcholeracontrolandpreventioneffortsinHaiti.

In May 2011,Vice PresidentVincentSiew led a delegation to Paraguay andPanama for an official visit. While inParaguay, he attended ceremonies cel-ebrating Paraguay’s bicentennial as wellas the centennial year of the ROC. Thevice president told the media that theROC will help its ally create more localjobsandexpandagriculturalmanufactur-ing and processing for a greater shareof the SouthAmerican market.While inPanama,SiewmetwithPresidentRicardoMartinelliandwitnessedthesigningofanagreement between the two countries onvisaexemptionforholdersofdiplomatic,official,consularandspecialpassports.

Relations with the ROC’s six diplo-matic partners in the Pacific—Kiribati,the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, theSolomonIslandsandTuvalu—continuedto flourish in 2010. In March of thatyear, during President Ma’s state visitsto the six nations, regional developmentplans in the fields of medical care, fish-ery conservation, vocational training,

agriculture, green energy and culturalexchangeswereunveiled.

The ROC and its four diplomaticpartners in Africa—Burkina Faso, theGambia, São Tomé and Príncipe, andSwaziland—arereviewingexistingcoop-erative projects and planning new ones.Current programs focus on medical careandinfrastructuredevelopment.

In December 2010, PremierWu Den-yih visited Burkina Faso to attend theinaugurationceremonyofPresidentBlaiseCompaoré.While there,PremierWualsopresidedovertheopeningceremonyforavocational trainingcenterbuiltwithROCsupport.TheROCwillassisttheWestAf-rican nation with national industry devel-opmentthroughtheprovisionofvocationaltrainingprogramsandtechnicalpersonnel.

In Europe, the ROC has diplomatictieswith theHolySee, foundedon theircommoncommitment to servinghuman-ityandadvancinghumandignity.

Taiwan-US RelationsDespite their lack of formal diplo-

matic ties,Taiwan and theUnitedStatescontinue to enjoy a strong and fruitfulpartnership. The United States is theROC’sthirdlargesttradingpartner,whiletheROCistheUnitedStates’ninthlarg-est. In 2010, the ROC’s total exports totheUnitedStatesamountedtoUS$31.47billion, up by 33.6 percent from theprevious year; imports from the UnitedStates amounted toUS$25.37billion, anincreaseof39.8percent.

The two countries maintain a widerange of cooperative relations in therealms of international security, trade,investment,culturalexchange,education,andscienceandtechnology.

In January 2010, the Obama admin-istration approved the sale of a US$6.4billion arms package to the ROC. Thisdemonstrates Washington’s commitment


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to itsobligationsunder theTaiwanRela-tionsAct, enacted by the U.S. CongressinMarch1979.

The Obama administration has ap-plauded the ROC’s efforts to relax ten-sions and improve relations across theTaiwan Strait. At the same time, it hasvoiced support for the ROC’s participa-tion in international organizations suchas the WHO and the International CivilAviationOrganization.

OnDecember14,2010, thefirst-everU.S.-Taiwan Clean Energy Forum台美國

際綠能產業/節能減碳論壇 took place in thesouthern city of Kaohsiung 高雄, withspecialized seminars featuring presenta-tions on clean energy innovation by dis-tinguishedspeakersfromboththeUnitedStates and Taiwan. This unprecedentedevent highlighted the two sides’ long-standingcooperationonenergyissues.

Taiwan-Canada RelationsThe ROC is Canada’s 13th-largest

trading partner globally and fourth inAsia. About 15,000 students from theROCare currently inCanada, the fourthmostpopularforeigndestinationforstudyamongTaiwanese.InApril2010,aYouthMobilityProgramagreementbetweentheROCandCanadacameintoeffect,allow-ingcitizensfromeithersidebetweentheagesof18and35totravel,liveandworkintheothercountryforupto12months.Theprogramquotaforbothsideswasin-creasedfroman initial200 to1,000per-sons in January 2011. Currently, holdersofCanadianpassportsareaccordedvisa-freeentry forup to90dayswhenenter-ingtheROC.OnNovember22,2010,theCanadiangovernmentwaivedthevisitor-visarequirementsforholdersofordinaryROC passports for stays of up to sixmonths, on the condition that suchpass-portscontainpersonalidentificationnum-bers. The success of theYouth MobilityProgramandvisa-waivertreatmentreflect

thegrowingneedformoreexchangesbe-tweenthetwocountries.

Taiwan-Japan RelationsThe ROC and Japan are neighbors

with significant historical, trade and in-vestment ties. While the two countriesdo not have formal diplomatic relations,JapanistheROC’ssecondlargesttradingpartner,while theROC is Japan’s fourthlargest. In 2010, the ROC’s exports toJapan amounted to US$18.02 billion, anincreaseof24.3percentfromthepreviousyear,whileimportsfromJapanamountedtoUS$51.93billion,upby43.4percent.

OnSeptember24,2009,Taiwan’sNa-tional Chengchi University 國立政治大學,undersupportfromtheInterchangeAsso-ciation, Japan日本交流協會 and the JapanFoundation 日本國際交流基金會, set up theCenter for Modern Japan Studies 當代日

本研究中心asanacademicexchangeplat-formbetweenthetwocountries.OnApril21, 2010, theTaipei Culture Center 臺北

文化中心, dedicated to promoting culturalexchanges between Taiwan and Japan,openedinTokyo.ThecenteristhefirstofitskindinAsiaandmodeledaftersimilarfacilitiesinNewYorkandParis.

OnApril30,2010,TaiwanandJapansigned a memorandum of understand-ing (MOU) calling on the two sides tostrengthencooperationin15areas:trade,economics, tourism, academics, culture,technology, disaster prevention, environ-mental protection, energy conservation,maritime safety, crime-fighting, agricul-ture, fishery, city-to-city interactions andexchange visits of their media. It is thefirstcomprehensivedocumentsignedbe-tweenTaiwanandJapansincediplomatictieswereseveredin1972.

The two countries have been work-ing to make travel more convenient andrewardingforeachother’scitizens.SinceOctober2008,ROCandJapanesecitizenswhohaveheldavaliddriver’slicensefor


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more than three months in their homecountrieshavebeenable touse theirna-tivelicenses(withaccompanyingtransla-tions)todriveintheothercountry.

InApril2009,Japansigneda“work-ing holiday” agreement with the ROC,wherebyyoungcitizensofeithercountrycan obtain special visas that allow themtoworkwhilevisitingtheothercountry.

For several decades, flights to Japanwere only available from internationalairports inTaoyuan 桃園 and Kaohsiung.TheresumptionofflightsbetweenTaipeiInternational Airport (Songshan Airport)臺北國際航空站 and Tokyo InternationalAirport (HanedaAirport)onOctober31,2010 after three decades of suspendedservices has boosted the convenience oftourists from both cities and enhancedTaiwan-Japanrelations.

InthewakeofthemassiveMarch11,2011 earthquake and tsunami that rav-aged Japan, Taiwan sent an emergencyrescueteamandover500tonnesofreliefsuppliestoJapan,aswellasoverUS$200millioninaid—90percentofwhichcamefromprivatedonors.JapanesePrimeMin-ister Naoto Kan subsequently issued anopenletterthankingTaiwanforitsfriend-ship and assistance during his nation’sworstnaturalcalamityindecades.

Despite a lack of formal ties, visitsto Taiwan by several Japanese politicalheavyweightsoverthepasttwoyearshavesignified a close relationship betweenTaipeiandTokyo.These include tripsbyformerJapaneseprimeministersTaroAso(in April 2010), Shinzo Abe (November2010),YoshiroMori(December2010)andToshiki Kaifu (March 2011) to promotecultural,economicandtourismexchangesbetween the twocountries. InMay2011,YoshiroMorireturnedagaintoattendtheopening ceremony of a park in honor ofJapanese civil engineer Yoichi Hatta, re-sponsible for creating southern Taiwan’sirrigationsystemduring the Japaneseco-lonialperiod(1895-1945).

Taiwan-ASEAN RelationsIn 2010, two-way trade between the

ROCandthememberstatesoftheAssoci-ationofSoutheastAsianNations(ASEAN)amounted to US$70.2 billion. The ROCis among the top foreign investors in thePhilippines,Vietnam,Indonesia,MalaysiaandThailand.Itisalsoanimportantmar-ketforASEANgoodsandservicesaswellasaprovideroftechnology.

Although economic and trade rela-tions between the ROC and ASEANcountriesareclose, theROC’sability toparticipate fully inEastAsian economicintegration has been impeded as a con-sequenceofBeijing’sobjections.Withaview to maximizing the benefits of freetrade while removing hindrances to de-velopmentof economic ties in theAsia-Pacific and beyond, since mid-2008 theROC government has signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Frame-work Agreement (ECFA) 海峽兩岸經濟合

作架構協議 and 14 other agreements withmainlandChina.

In November 2010, the ROC andVietnamconcludedtheMutualLegalAs-sistanceAgreement,makingVietnamthesecond nation, after the United States,withwhichtheROCdoesnothaveformaldiplomatic relations, to sign such a pactwithTaiwan.Theagreement, in additionto furthering bilateral relations betweenthe two nations, will make it easier forTaiwan and Vietnam to fight crime anddealwitharangeofcivilcases.

The Taipei Representative Officein Singapore and the Singapore TradeOffice in Taipei simultaneously issueda joint press release on December 15,2010,statingthatTaiwanandSingaporehad completed a feasibility study andagreed to initiate negotiations in 2011on an economic partnership agreementunder the rules of the WTO. The com-prehensive pact, to be known as theAgreement between Singapore and the


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Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan,Penghu,KinmenandMatsuonEconom-ic Partnership, will address issues suchas lowering tariffs and reducing non-tariffbarriers.

Taiwan-Europe RelationsTaiwan enjoys strong ties with Euro-

peancountries.The27-memberEuropeanUnioniscurrentlyTaiwan’sfourth-largesttradingpartner,whileTaiwanistheEuro-peanUnion’sseventh-largestAsiantradingpartner. In 2010, Taiwan’s exports to theEuropean Union totaled US$27.3 billion,up by 28 percent from the previous year,while imports from the European Unionamounted toUS$21.6billion,an increaseof36percent.TheEuropeanUnionisthetopforeigninvestorintheROC,aheadofthe United States and Japan. The annualTaiwan-EU Consultation, held alternatelyinBrusselsandTaipei,servesasanimpor-tantplatformforpromotingeconomicandcooperative relations. The 22nd round ofconsultationswasconvenedinBrusselsinNovember2010.

Since President Ma took office in2008, the European Council and Euro-pean Parliament have issued statementsandresolutionspraisingtheROC’seffortsto improve cross-strait relations and toparticipatemorefullyininternationalor-ganizationsbyextendingcross-straitcon-ciliation into the realm of global affairs.OnJune30,2010,thehighrepresentativeof theUnionforForeignAffairsandSe-curity Policy, Catherine Ashton, issueda statement on behalf of the EuropeanUnion, hailing the signing of the ECFAbetweenTaiwanandmainlandChina.

Parliamentary liaisons in particularhave played a valuable role in encour-aging the development of cooperativebilateral and multilateral ties over theyears.TheEuropeanParliament’sTaiwanFriendship Group founded in 1991, forexample, has enthusiastically supported

theROC’sendeavors toplayaconstruc-tive role in the international communityand contribute to regional and globalpeaceandprosperity.

Embassies and Missions Abroad

Embassies

Belize Kiribati SaintLuciaBurkinaFaso Marshall SaintVincentDominican Islands andthe Republic Nauru GrenadinesElSalvador Nicaragua SãoToméGambia,The Palau andPríncipeGuatemala Panama SolomonHaiti Paraguay IslandsHolySee SaintKitts SwazilandHonduras andNevis Tuvalu

Missions¹

Argentina India PhilippinesAustralia Indonesia PolandAustria Ireland PortugalBahrain Israel RussiaBrazil Italy SaudiArabiaBrunei Japan SingaporeCanada Jordan SlovakiaChile SouthKorea SouthAfricaColombia Kuwait SpainCzech Latvia Sweden Republic Libya SwitzerlandDenmark Malaysia ThailandEcuador Mexico TurkeyBelgium Mongolia UnitedArab (European Netherlands Emirates Union)² NewZealand UnitedFiji Nigeria KingdomFinland Norway UnitedStatesFrance Oman ofAmericaGermany PapuaNew VietnamGreece Guinea WorldTradeHungary Peru Organization

TheROChas91representativeofficesin57coun-11triesinadditiontoamissionat theWorldTradeOrganizationheadquartersinGeneva.TheROCrepresentativeofficeinBelgiumdoubles21asthenation’smissiontotheEuropeanUnion.

Source:MinistryofForeignAffairs,April2011


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• Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.mofa.gov.tw

• International Cooperation and Development Fund: http://www.icdf.org.tw

• AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center: http://www.avrdc.org

• Food and Fertilizer Technology Center: http://www.agnet.org

Related

Websites

Among other positive developmentsin Taiwan-EU relations in 2010, theTaiwanTextileFederation紡拓會 and theEuropean Apparel and Textile Federa-tion signed an MOU in October that isexpectedtoassist textilefirmsfrombothsides to make joint inroads into the vastmainlandChinesemarket.

OnDecember22,2010,theEuropeanUnionannouncedtheinclusionofTaiwanin its visa-waiver program. Since Janu-ary11,2011,ROCpassportholdershaveenjoyed visa-free entry to 35 Europeancountriesforupto90days.

Recentpositivedevelopmentsininter-actionsbetween theROCand individualEUmemberstatesinclude:

May-September 2010—the ROC and•the Czech Republic signed one MOUin May on cooperation in the field ofe-government, and twoMOUs inSep-tember on information exchange andcooperation between the intellectualpropertyofficesofthetwocountries;September2010—Irelandinkedadriver’s•licenseexchangeagreementwithTaiwan,becoming the 10th European nation todo so, after the Netherlands, Belgium,Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Italy,Hungary,FinlandandSwitzerland;October2010• —TheROCandtheUnit-edKingdomamended aprevious avia-tion agreement, allowing a substantialincrease in flight services between thetwocountries;theROC-Germanywork-ingholidayprogramcameintoeffect;

December 2010—Taiwan and France•inkedanagreementtoabolishdoubletax-ation between the two countries, whichcameintoeffectonJanuary1,2011;January 2011—A Taiwan-Hungary•agreement abolishing double taxationbetween the two countries took ef-fect; and Taiwan and France signed acooperationprotocol tobolster judicialtrainingexchanges.

Commitment to Global Vision and Understanding

ToenhancetheeffectivenessofTaiwan’scultural diplomacy, the MOFA has orga-nizedtheTrainingCourseonInternation-alAffairs for FutureTalents 國際事務人才

培訓班,theTrainingCampforDiplomaticPioneers 外交尖兵培訓營, the Festival ofPublic Diplomacy 公眾外交嘉年華, the In-ternationalYoungAmbassadors Program國際青年大使 and the International YouthCultureandStudyTourintheRepublicofChina(Taiwan)國際青年台灣研習營.Italsoencourages young people to take educa-tionaltoursabroad.

At the same time, the MOFA pro-motesvisitsbyforeignacademics,artistsandpoliticalfiguresbyconductingorfa-cilitating a variety of international semi-nars,conferencesandotherevents in theROC.Itswebsiteand thoseof itsofficesaroundtheworldalsoprovideawealthofinformationaboutthenation.


Foreign Relations. ROC (Taiwan) Yearbook 2011 Ch05 foreign relations

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