President Ma Ying-jeou has promised to continue working towards Taiwan’s economic development up through his final day in office.
Ma was speaking at an economic forum on Thursday. He said over the eight years of his administration, the government has created a very clear blueprint for the economy. He said this blueprint involves opening up Taiwan to the world through trade liberalization and the conclusion of bilateral trade and investment agreements.
Ma said that economic integration is a global trend. He said that at the end of last year, Southeast Asian countries established the ASEAN Economic Community. Meanwhile the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, both of which Taiwan hopes to join, are expected to be formally launched within the year.
Ma also said that it is important for Taiwan to avoid rejecting the Chinese market. Ma said that rejecting China would be a mistake and might prove fatal to Taiwan’s economy.
He called on Taiwan’s future leaders to maintain the 1992 Consensus. Under this consensus both sides of the Taiwan Strait hold that Taiwan and China are part of one China while agreeing to disagree about what one China means.
Ma said that with this prerequisite, future governments can capitalize on his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, maintaining the peaceful status quo in cross-strait relations.