Former President Fidel V. Ramos urged former Taiwan President Ma Yung-Jeou (2008-2016) to help foster stronger relations between the two countries following the latter’s visit at the Ramos Peace and Development (RPDEV) office in Makati the other day.
“Taiwanese and Filipinos have been the best of friends,” said FVR, whose father Narciso served as Philippine ambassador to Taiwan before the adoption of a “One China Policy” by the Philippines in 1974.
After that, the older Ramos became the first chair of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, the de facto embassy in Taipei.
FVR told Ma that in 1946, as many as 30,000 Chinese fled Mainland China and sought shelter in the Philippines as the communists steadily gained ground.
“By the early 1960s, many rich Filipino-Chinese set down roots in Taiwan, to which the Kuomintang forces had fled, said FVR adding that “the Philippines has maintained mainly friendly and strong ties with Taiwan, even as the island plays host to thousands of Filipino workers who are valued for their skills and specialized knowledge, especially in the field of electronics and digital devices.”
Ma served as Taiwan President from 2008 to 2016 whose term saw a significant increase of economic improvement in Taiwan and a warm relationship with Mainland China. He became the first ROC Head of State to meet with a Communist Party General Secretary when he met Xi Jinping in Singapore in November 2015.
