The following is the full text of President Ma Ying-jeou's speech at the International Press Conference

The following is the full text of President Ma Ying-jeou's speech at the International Press Conference Dear fellow countrymen, elders and compatriots, good morning, everyone! 1. The government cares about students and Taiwan...

Dear fellow countrymen, elders and compatriots, good morning, everyone!

1. The government cares about students and Taiwan's economy. In the past few days, compatriots across the country have been concerned about the development of students' occupation of the Legislative Yuan, the development of long-term protests, and the discussion of the cross-strait trade in services agreement. I share everyone's concerns and share everyone's worries. I came forward today to make my views clear to you.

2. Only when young people care about national affairs can the country have a future. First of all, to the students in the Legislative Yuan, I understand your concerns about trade in services issues, and I recognize your enthusiasm and starting point. When I was in college and studying in the United States, I cared about national affairs and participated in student movements. I know very well that only when young people care about national affairs and have the courage to participate can the country have a future.

3. Taiwan’s democracy and rule of law are hard-won, and should not be discarded easily. However, I must also seriously report to my compatriots that the achievements of Taiwan’s democracy are hard-won. Over the past 20 years, after comprehensive re-election of Congress, five direct elections of the president, and seven constitutional amendments, it is now a model of democracy in Chinese society; and the rule of law is the foundation of democracy. Without the rule of law, there is no democracy. Adhering to the rule of law is the foundation of our country. The Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement is still under review by the Legislative Yuan, and the procedures have not been completed. It has not been finalized yet. If the outside world has any opinions on the Trade in Services Agreement, there is still room for full expression during the review process in the future. However, because students were dissatisfied with the review process of Congress, they occupied the Legislative Yuan chamber in violation of the law, completely paralyzing the operations of Congress for five days, and seriously affecting the operations of the five chambers, including the legislative and executive chambers.

Let us calmly think about it, is this the democracy we want? Is it necessary to sacrifice the rule of law in this way? Aren’t we proud of Taiwan’s democracy and rule of law? As the President of the Republic of China, I must defend democracy and uphold the rule of law in accordance with the Constitution, because without the rule of law, democracy will not be preserved. This is the basic position that the government cannot shake.

4. Why does Taiwan sign a services trade agreement with the mainland? Many people are asking these days, why must the Legislative Yuan pass the Services Trade Agreement? I want to report to you again in a responsible manner. This is entirely for the future of Taiwan's economy. As everyone knows, Taiwan is a small and open economy, and 70% of its economic growth depends on foreign trade. Due to my country's difficult diplomatic situation, although countries are willing to do business with Taiwan, they are hesitant to sign a free trade agreement (FTA). This is why our country has only signed 7 free trade agreements or economic cooperation agreements so far (of which there are only 3 major trading partners), far behind Singapore, South Korea, Japan and the mainland. The tariffs our country must pay for exported goods are 3-7% higher than their goods. Therefore, we must negotiate and sign as soon as possible to catch up, so as not to be marginalized. Dear compatriots, regional economic integration is an unstoppable global trend. If we do not face it and join it, we will only wait to be eliminated. For the development of the country, we really have no choice and can’t wait any longer!

On March 11, South Korea and Canada announced that they would sign a free trade agreement (FTA). South Korea became the first country in Asia to sign an FTA with Canada. In the future, 97.5% of South Korea's goods, including cars, auto parts, refrigerators, washing machines, etc., will enjoy zero-tariff benefits and travel unimpeded. However, our country's goods exported to Canada have to pay tariffs. How can we compete with South Korea?

South Korea is our most important trade competitor. In the past ten years, South Korea has had four presidents, regardless of party affiliation, and the government and the opposition have cooperated. From only one free trade agreement to now, it has signed 11 free trade agreements, including the European Union and ASEAN, covering more than 40 countries. Korean manufacturers enjoy open markets and preferential tariffs all over the world, but our manufacturers can only watch their competitiveness slowly disappear.

We are ten years behind South Korea, and now it is too late to catch up. How can we keep saying "don't rush"? A leader once pointed out that if our trade in services agreement fails, South Korea will be the happiest. What’s even more troublesome is that if the trade in services agreement fails to pass, it will seriously harm my country’s international credit and trade liberalization efforts. It will also definitely affect my country’s chances of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Dear compatriots, the service industry is the main force of my country's industry, with output value accounting for nearly 70% of GDP and nearly 60% of the population engaged in the service industry. However, service industry exports lag far behind Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Taiwan's service industry has creativity, talent, and quality, but because the market is too small and the consumer population is limited, it is unable to develop its talents. The passage of the "Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement" will allow the mainland to further open its market to Taiwanese businesses and provide my country's service businesses with more favorable conditions than foreign investment. Young people have big dreams. We should not tie them to Taiwan. We should support them to enter larger markets and expand around the world. In fact, Taiwan has been opening up to Mainland capital for nearly five years, employing 9,600 Taiwanese employees. After the future trade in services agreement is passed, it will also increase job opportunities for Taiwanese people.

5. Misunderstandings about the Trade in Services Agreement There are many misunderstandings about the Trade in Services Agreement currently circulating in the public. For example: if the trade agreement is passed, mainland workers and immigrants will invade in large numbers, and Taiwanese workers will lose their jobs; Taiwan’s publishing industry will be controlled by the mainland; the Services Trade Agreement only takes care of large enterprises and ignores small and medium-sized enterprises. Investments in the construction and telecommunications industries from the mainland will affect our national security; the projects that the mainland opens to Taiwan are not right, etc. I want to solemnly tell you that these are not facts. We have not opened up mainland workers, immigrants or the publishing industry to come to Taiwan at all. In fact, it has been nearly five years since we opened mainland investment to Taiwan. Our prior review and subsequent supervision are very strict, and those who break the law will be immediately punished and have their investment withdrawn.

Among the 80 items open to Taiwan by mainland China, computer services, real estate services, travel agencies, market research, photography, translation, building cleaning, etc. are all applicable to Taiwanese small and medium-sized enterprises, and they are not exclusive to large enterprises. Overall, the trade in services agreement was signed based on our principle of "focusing on Taiwan and benefiting the people." It will do more good than harm to Taiwan. I hope that the administrative department can further explain the actual situation and make it clear during the review process of the trade in services agreement in the future. Countries around the world will be worried about the impact when facing market opening. But the liberalization of Taiwan's market did not start today. As early as the 1970s of the Republic of China, the U.S. service industry entered the Taiwan market. I had all these worries at the time. What was the result? McDonald's, KFC, and Starbucks all came in, but the local industry quickly learned the business model and developed Taiwanese coffee chain stores such as 85 Degree C, which even added creative value and marketed it to the world. In fact, in the trade in services agreement, 27 of the 64 projects that Taiwan has opened to mainland investment have been open for 2 to 5 years, such as catering, car rental, wholesale of traditional Chinese medicine, wholesale and retail of books, etc., and their impact on the Taiwan market is very limited. For industries that may be affected, the government has allocated 98.2 billion yuan and classified them into three methods: revitalization counseling, physical adjustment, and damage relief. The agreement also includes provisions such as emergency consultation, national security exceptions, implementation review, and amendment provisions, which can effectively respond to various situations at any time.

6. The Agreement on Trade in Services should be reviewed and voted on article by article. Students hope that the Agreement on Trade in Services should be reviewed and voted on article by article. The day before yesterday, the ruling party group had decided to unanimously support it. I would like to call on students to withdraw from the Legislative Yuan as soon as possible and allow the Legislative Yuan to resume normal operations. This is also the expectation of the majority of public opinion, because the laws and budgets of the other four houses are closely related to the Legislative Yuan. I also hope that President Wang of the Legislative Yuan and the ruling and opposition parties can return the trade in services agreement to normal procedures as soon as possible and handle it in the most appropriate manner. Dear compatriots and fellow countrymen, Ying-jeou is here to report to you with an extremely serious and sincere mood. The country must continue to move forward, and Taiwan's economy cannot be marginalized. I hope that when everyone discusses the issue of trade in services, they should keep Taiwan's future in mind and not just consider the interests of political parties. "Taiwan takes the lead and is good for the people" has been the basic belief of Ying-jeou since he came to power. Ying-jeou pledged to promote the Trade in Services Agreement and other free trade agreements to "help people do business and enhance Taiwan's competitiveness" so that our next generation will have a better future.