President Ma Ying-jeou presided over the swearing-in of the new Premier and Cabinet members February 1, 2016. In his remarks, the President called on all Cabinet members to be constant in doing their duty, act appropriately, be of one mind, steer the ship of state toward the future, and be proactive during their term of office.
The text of the President’s remarks follows:
Today we are gathered to swear-in a new Premier and Cabinet members following the full resignation of the Cabinet. I first want to thank everyone for your readiness to carry on in your positions and work hard for the Republic of China through May 19.
In past swearing-in ceremonies, the President oversaw the proceedings; these are commonly but a formality, with no President ever delivering remarks on this occasion. However, given that recent elections have resulted in a change of majority party in the Legislature, and that we will remain in our posts through May 19, or less than four months from today, I would like to share a few thoughts concerning how we may best accomplish the tasks before us in the time remaining.
First, we must be proactive administrators, not sitting by as a passive governing team.
The notion of caretaker government leads people to believe that the government is laissez-faire, a do-nothing government. I applaud the view put forth by Premier Chang San-cheng, that the government ought to be constant in doing its duty, act appropriately, be of one mind, and steer the ship of state toward the future. I would like to add two points to this, namely, that the government be proactive, and consistent from beginning to end. Until May 19, the old hands in the Cabinet must help the newcomers, to ensure smooth and seamless governance.
Second, we must stand fast at our posts, carrying out our duties in the proper manner.
Over the past two weeks, three examples demonstrate how we have been doing our duty and acting appropriately. Since the elections on January 16, the National Stabilization Fund has been working to keep volatility in the stock market down, thus reducing public concern. We have not sat idly by because the previous Cabinet tendered its resignation. The Executive Yuan has acted swiftly and appropriately, without hesitation and without holding back. I would ask you all to consider, were the National Stabilization Fund to cease its market operations and act only as a caretaker, what would the people think?
Next has been our response to the damage wrought two weeks ago by the coldest weather in a century. Snow fell in many places around Taiwan, and the cold snap caused losses of NT$2.8 billion in the agricultural and fishery sectors. Then acting Premier Chang and I promptly set out separately for Miaoli and Tainan to survey the damage. Assistance was provided to farmers and fishermen in appraising and reporting their losses. We asked the Council of Agriculture and local governments to speed up their review of these cases and distribute relief aid. We simply could not respond sluggishly and passively just because the Cabinet had tendered its resignation.
We have also been carrying out our duty through our response to testimony in late November at a hearing on the Philippine South China Sea arbitration at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands. Lawyers for the Philippines claimed that the ROC territory of Taiping Island is a rock with no freshwater or arable land, for which all supplies must be brought in from elsewhere. If in its award, expected in May or June, the court accepts this fallacious argument, the damage to the legal rights of the ROC will be tremendous, as according to the Article 121 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, only an island is entitled to a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone and a continental shelf, while a rock is entitled to just 12 nautical miles of territorial waters.
The territorial waters of Taiping Island cover 450 square nautical miles, while its EEZ is 125,000 square nautical miles, 11 times the size of Taiwan, and 276 times more expansive than the territorial waters. Thus if Taiping Island is demoted to a rock, the consequences will be extremely serious.
I instructed Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen to lead a group of experts and officials from a number of ministries to Taiping Island last December 12. On January 22 and 23, I again dispatched about a dozen experts to the island. They confirmed that Taiping Island can supply 65 tons of high-quality freshwater daily and that over a dozen fruits and vegetables can be grown in its fecund soil. Chickens, goats, and dogs are raised on the island. More than a hundred sturdy tropical trees stand three to four stories high. The island also has solar panels, a hospital, a post office, and a Guanyin Temple. Taiping is a pearl in the South China Sea, with a lush forest teeming with life, as well as relatively complete living amenities. It is categorically not a desolate rock.
However, the international community is unaware of these facts. As we were not invited to participate in the arbitration process and with time pressing, I decided to visit Taiping Island myself on January 28. As president, I called on the international community and the arbitration court to respect the fact that Taiping is an island and not a rock, and that the ROC has a blueprint for and is determined to implement the South China Sea Peace Initiative.
We want the international community to understand that the Republic of China is a peace-loving country. Over the past eight years, we have signed 23 agreements with mainland China based on the 1992 Consensus of “one China, respective interpretations,” thereby fostering peace across the Taiwan Strait. Furthermore, in accordance with the spirit of the East China Sea Peace Initiative, we have concluded a fisheries agreement with Japan, forging peace in the East China Sea. And on the basis of the South China Sea Peace Initiative, we have signed an accord with the Philippines on law enforcement cooperation in fisheries matters, creating peace in parts of the South China Sea. Our actions in these three bodies of water have demonstrated our sincere determination to advance peace in the region.
During my visit to Taiping Island, I announced a roadmap for the South China Sea Peace Initiative, which was put forward in May 2015. The purpose of this roadmap is to make Taiping Island an island for peace and rescue operations, as well as an ecologically friendly and low-carbon island, serving as the first step toward creating peace in the South China Sea. Our goal is not to show off our military power or instigate conflict. Thus, my trip to Taiping Island was a legitimate and necessary action of great urgency, not only avoiding any increase in tensions in the South China Sea, but also allowing the international community to gain insight into the reality of the situation and setting a positive example for other peace-loving nations. Our allies have a clear understanding of our intents and purposes. In fact, in the five days following my trip, international media outlets have published 179 related articles and commentaries, and this number is still increasing. Even more important, tensions in the South China Sea have not risen, in line with our expectations prior to the trip. Indeed, I would rather deal with condemnation from a small group of people domestically who say that the timing of the trip was not right than bear public criticism that I neglected my duty, surrendered sovereignty, and humiliated the nation in the event of an award by the international arbitral tribunal on Taiping Island that is not beneficial to the ROC. As it is my solemn responsibility to defend the nation’s territory, I was resolute in my decision to visit the island. This is the difference between an active government and a passive government, between a government of action and a government of inaction.
My third thought for the Cabinet is that we must work actively for a smooth transition to the next administration.
We still have close to four months to make significant contributions to our country. I trust that everyone will remain engaged and steadfast in their work, and serve actively and consistently until our last moment in office. We can set a positive example in the constitutional history of the Republic of China by making this a successful government transition. I also hope that you will put the people first, consider matters on their own merits, and be neither servile nor arrogant in accepting oversight from the Legislative Yuan and engaging with legislators. Even though DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen declined my offer of joint consultations on selecting a candidate for Premier who would be acceptable to the majority party in the Legislative Yuan, she did publicly pledge on January 21 that she would request that her party’s legislators refrain from embarrassing or intentionally making things difficult for our administration. We look forward to seeing this promise fulfilled and hope that other political parties will also be supportive.
