Former President Fidel Ramos has urged former Taiwan President Ma Yung-Jeou to help foster stronger relations between the two countries following the latter’s visit at the Ramos Peace and Development office in Makati.
“Taiwanese and Filipinos have been the best of friends,” said Ramos, 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 chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, the de facto embassy in Taipei.
Ramos told Ma that in 1946, as many as 30,000 Chinese who fled mainland China 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 Ramos, 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 Taiwanese President from 2008 to 2016. His term saw a significant economic improvement in Taiwan and a warm relationship with mainland China. He became the first Taiwanese head of state to meet with a Communist Party General Secretary when he met Xi Jinping in Singapore in November 2015.
