Autumn is here, and with it National Day, October 10, known as “Double Ten.” Once again the national flag—a white sun set within a blue square against a solid red background—will wave proudly in the wind. Though we are currently facing many challenges in our national affairs, this year was a very fruitful one for foreign relations, as Taiwan greatly increased its international visibility.

President Ma and First Lady Chow Mei-ching attending the ­inaugural mass for Pope Francis.

In April Taiwan and Japan signed a major fisheries agreement, setting aside 17 years of controversy surrounding the overlap of the maritime exclusive economic zones of Taiwan and Japan. This major breakthrough allows Taiwanese fishermen to legally and safely operate in our exclusive economic zone.

In September, the president of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, an international organization under the United Nations, invited us to attend the 38th session of its assembly. This is another case, following Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly five years ago, of being invited to participate in a UN specialized agency. This is of major significance in terms of ensuring flight safety for our own citizens and international travelers, and it indicates that international society widely recognizes Taiwan’s important position in the region and in civil aviation.

This was also the year in which two countries with which the ROC has formal diplomatic relations—the Vatican and Paraguay—chose new leaders, and President Ma Ying-jeou personally went to congratulate both.

In February, the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI, announced that he would retire for reasons of personal health. The following month Argentine cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the new pope, choosing to be known as Pope Francis. Our relations with the Vatican have a long history, dating back to the establishment of formal diplomatic ties in 1942. In order to express his felicitations to the pope, President Ma traveled for the first time to the Vatican, and was the first head of state in our nation’s history to participate in a papal inauguration ceremony and the first to have a face-to-face meeting with the pope, opening a new page in the history of our relations with the Vatican.

In August, the president visited five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with which the ROC has formal diplomatic ties. Besides congratulating newly elected Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes, he also inspected cooperative projects that Taiwan has with its allies in the areas of agriculture, technology, and infrastructure. These foreign aid projects are concrete results of the use of new technology by Taiwan corporations to assist construction in allied countries.

President Ma says that since he took office, the principles he has adopted to guide foreign aid policy have been “appropriate objectives, lawful processes, and effective implementation.” The foreign aid actions of the ROC are not merely to consolidate ties with allies, but also respect the UN standard that when a country’s per-capita national income surpasses US$20,000, then 0.7% of its gross domestic product should be used for foreign aid purposes. President Ma stresses that the ROC was in the past aided by others, so now that we have the ability to do so, we should help others, in order to demonstrate that Taiwan plays the role of “humanitarian aid provider” in international society.

President Ma jogging with national team runners from the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

President Ma visiting a demonstration leisure farm in St. Kitts and Nevis.

ROC compatriots living or traveling in Italy waving the national flag at the inaugural mass for Pope Francis, held in the Piazza San Pietro.

President Ma’s plane made a stopover in New York; he is shown here visiting the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Society and socializing with overseas compatriots.

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Botanic Garden is the ­oldest ­botanical garden in the Western hemisphere; the photo shows ­President Ma planting a wax-apple tree in the facility.