President Ma Ying-jeou says that preserving the cross-strait status quo is what Taiwan’s people need.
Ma was speaking Thursday when receiving US Senator Tom Cotton. He said that the Taiwan Strait used to be a flash point in East Asia, but since he took office, tensions between Taiwan and China have eased. Ma said this is because he has followed the principle of “no unification, no independence, and no use of force”.
Meanwhile, Ma said relations between Taiwan and the United States are at their best since the two sides broke formal diplomatic ties 36 years ago. He also said the US National Defense Authorization Act for next year shows that the US supports the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances, the framework of the existing US-Taiwan relationship.
In response to Ma’s comments, Cotton said the people of Taiwan and the US share values such as freedom and democracy. He also said the two sides have close trade ties. Cotton said he supports Taiwan’s bid to join the second round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. The TPP is a US-led multilateral free trade agreement currently being negotiated among 12 Pacific countries.