Remarks by 

His Excellency

Ma Ying-jeou

President, Republic of China (Taiwan)
 

To be followed by a panel discussion chaired by

Professor Condoleezza Rice

with panelists

Larry Diamond
Director, CDDRL

Francis Fukuyama
Senior Fellow, FSI

Admiral Gary Roughead
Former Chief of Naval Operations
US Navy (Ret.)

Reception to follow.

Doors will open at 5:15pm,
and attendees should arrive before 5:50pm.

On May 20, 2008, Ma Ying-jeou was inaugurated as the 12th-term president of the Republic of China (ROC). During the presidential election Ma campaigned on a platform to revive Taiwan's flagging economy and restore core values of integrity, tolerance, and enterprising spirit. Ma secured a landslide victory with a total of 58.5 percent of the vote. The 2008 election represented Taiwan's second peaceful transfer of political power, marking a milestone in the country’s democratic development. On January 14, 2012, he was re-elected as the 13th-term president, with 51.6 percent of the vote.

President Ma graduated in 1972 from Taiwan's foremost academic institution, National Taiwan University, with a bachelor's degree from the College of Law. After earning a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from New York University in 1976, Ma received a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1981, specializing in law of the sea and international economic law.

In his early political career, Ma Ying-jeou served as deputy director of the First Bureau of the Presidential Office, where he acted as President Chiang Ching-kuo's English interpreter and secretary; Chairman of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission of the Executive Yuan; and Minister of Justice. After teaching law at the College of Law, National Chengchi University, in 1998 Ma Ying-jeou was elected Mayor of Taipei with 51 percent of the vote, and four years he won a landslide victory for a second term with 64 percent of the vote. In 2005 he was elected chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT), again by a decisive margin, and three years later he was elected president of the Republic of China.

As President, Ma Ying-jeou has addressed the repercussions of the global financial crisis, stepping up efforts to bring about a more diversified industrial structure and to jump-start new engines for economic growth in Taiwan. President Ma has attached great importance to promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction, which has helped Taiwan’s energy efficiency to exceed 2%. Crafting a response to regional economic integration in Asia has been another key policy focus for the Ma administration. In 2010, his administration successfully negotiated an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with the People's Republic of China, a landmark in the improvement of Cross-Strait relations. President Ma's creative diplomacy has brought a significant improvement in cross-strait relations while putting an end to a long and vituperative standoff between the two sides in the diplomatic sphere.

This event is co-sponsored with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, San Francisco and the Office of the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan).