Taiwan’s ex-leader Ma Ying-jeou calls for ‘peaceful and democratic’ unification – South China Morning Post
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Ma Ying-jeou’s mainland China trip shows he’s Beijing’s best hope to win Taiwanese hearts and minds
‘We are all descendants of the Yellow Emperor,’ says Ma. ‘I hope we can set aside ideological differences.’ ‘There is only one China’, he adds, ‘and we are all part of it’. “We are not against each other, we are for each other.”
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Yet he is much more than a “mister” to Beijing. Ma, the first former or sitting Taiwanese president to be received by mainland China’s leader, remains Beijing’s top choice to help it win Taiwanese hearts and minds.
“Even though our political systems and perspectives may differ from those of the mainland, we are all descendants of the Yellow Emperor , belonging to the same Chinese nation,” Ma said upon returning to Taiwan on Thursday, wrapping up a trip he dubbed a “journey of peace”.
“I also hope that the young people of Taiwan can set aside ideological differences and recognise the historical and cultural connections between Taiwan and the mainland, which cannot be severed by politics.”
President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Xinhua
He added that his trip showed it was still possible for the “1992 consensus” to serve as a basis for addressing disputes between Beijing and Taipei. The consensus is a tacit agreement that for the two sides to continue to talk, they must recognise there is only one China, though each side can have its own interpretation of what that means.
China’s Military Drills Concern Even Taiwan’s Beijing-Friendly Party
Just days after the start of a new school year, this article looks at some of the events that have happened in the past year. This article includes stories, photos, videos, and more from the National Museum of Natural History, which opened in New York City in 1998. This is the first in a series of articles to look at the history and culture of the city of New York. For more information, or to see a collection of previous articles, visit the National Museums of New Jersey and New York, or the National Gallery of U.S. Museum of Nature and Science, which is open every other year and features a variety of objects, such as books, maps, and photographs. For information on how to get your hands on a copy of this article, please go to: http://www.nhm.org/. This article was originally published on January 23, 2014.
The People’s Liberation Army described the exercises, which included sending naval ships and warplanes into the Taiwan Strait and launching target strikes on areas surrounding the island, as “a strong punishment for the separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces.”
Taiwan’s government was quick to condemn the show of force, which its defense ministry condemned as “irrational provocations” that “undermine regional peace and stability.”
A resident of Lieyu Township watches news of China’s drills around Taiwan on May 23, 2024. I-Hwa Cheng—AFP/Getty Images
China’s actions also notably drew a response from Taiwan’s more Beijing-friendly Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT), which urged “the other side of the Taiwan Strait to exercise restraint.”
The party said in a statement that Taiwan’s defense ministry should “respond rigorously” to the exercises and called on the Chinese Communist Party to “stop unnecessary measures, avoid conflicts across the Taiwan Strait, and cherish the results of cross-Strait peaceful development.”
The KMT is widely regarded as pro-China, but it has tried to move away from that image in a bid to win back popular support as the Taiwanese public largely prefers maintaining the status quo more than either outright independence or unification. Hou Yu-ih, the KMT’s presidential nominee who lost to Lai in January, has ruled out talks of unification with China, though former Taiwan President and prominent KMT leader Ma Ying-jeou met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April to promote unification.
Beijing has long accused Taiwan’s ruling DPP of stoking tensions in advocating for Taiwan’s independence and has called Lai a “dangerous separatist.” Ahead of Taiwan’s presidential election in January, the Chinese government reportedly embarked on a concerted campaign to sway Taiwanese voters in favor of the KMT; and in the wake of DPP’s election victory, Beijing rebuked countries who congratulated Lai.
The KMT previously voiced concern about China’s military activities near Taiwan in 2022, when the party’s vice chairman Andrew Hsia traveled to several Chinese cities while Beijing launched a large-scale military exercise to protest then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei. Hsia said he told his Chinese counterparts that the military exercises were threatening cross-Strait relations.
As part of Beijing’s efforts to pressure Taiwan over its longstanding sovereignty dispute, Chinese military activities near Taiwan have been a regular occurrence, typically scheduled around sensitive political events—including Pelosi’s 2022 trip and former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the U.S. in 2023.
A map shared by the PLA on Thursday shows the regions around Taiwan where it plans to conduct large-scale military exercises. The text reads, “Schematic diagram of the Joint 2024-A exercise area.” Eastern Theater Command/Weibo
But there are worrying signs that Beijing is amping up the aggression, with the drills this week marking the first time the Chinese army is simulating a full-scale attack and targeting Taiwanese islands close to its coast, the BBC reported, citing military analysts.
The two-day military drills, which were launched Thursday morning, were uncharacteristically announced on the day itself. A map released by the Eastern Command of the PLA showed that the exercises will be held in five different areas surrounding Taiwan, as well as the outlying islands Taiwan controls like Matsu and Kinmen, which are located closer to the mainland’s shores.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Thursday that it had dispatched forces, including aircraft, navy vessels, and coastal missile systems to respond to the PLA’s activities. The ministry also wrote in a post on X: “We seek no conflicts, but we will not shy away from one to ensure our nation’s safety and protect our beautiful homeland.”
Ma Ying-jeou urges Taiwan’s next president to respond ‘pragmatically’ to Xi Jinping’s ‘olive branch’
William Lai Ching-te, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, was elected in January and will be inaugurated next month. Ma said Lai should “follow the Constitution of the Republic of China, confirm the one-China framework based on the constitution, and ensure that the two sides of the strait are not two separate countries’ The ROC constitution was adopted by the Nationalist, or Kuomintang, government in Nanjing in 1947.
Ma, who met mainland Chinese leader Xi in Beijing last week, said Taiwan’s next leader, William Lai Ching-te , should take note of Xi’s goodwill and refrain from “walking the independence path”.
Lai, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, was elected in January and will be inaugurated next month.
04:31 Vice-President William Lai wins Taiwan presidential election as his party loses legislature majority Vice-President William Lai wins Taiwan presidential election as his party loses legislature majority
Using Taiwan’s official name for itself, Ma wrote in a Facebook post on Monday that Lai should “follow the Constitution of the Republic of China, confirm the one-China framework based on the constitution, and ensure that the two sides of the strait are not two separate countries”.
The ROC constitution, which includes the one-China concept, was adopted by the Nationalist, or Kuomintang, government in Nanjing in 1947. It has remained in effect in Taiwan since the KMT fled to the island and set up an interim government there after being defeated by the Communists in mainland China during the civil war in 1949.
Since she came to power in 2016, incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen , of the DPP, has refused to accept the one-China principle, saying Beijing has never ruled Taiwan and that the island is already sovereign and independent.
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Tsai’s second four-year term ends on May 20. Her successor, Lai, has been denounced by Beijing as a “troublemaker” and “obstinate separatist”.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but oppose any attempt to take it by force.
Mainland China pins its hopes on Taiwan’s former leader Ma Ying-jeou after meeting Xi Jinping during ‘journey of peace’
Taiwan is about to see a changing of the guard amid rising cross-strait tensions. mainland China’s response has been closely watched. The primary conduit for these efforts is Ma Ying-jeou, the former Taiwanese president who led the island from 2008 to 2016.
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As Taiwan is about to see a changing of the guard amid rising cross-strait tensions, mainland China’s response has been closely watched.
The primary conduit for these efforts is Ma Ying-jeou, the former Taiwanese president who led the island from 2008 to 2016 and still carries weight within the Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party. The KMT is seen as more friendly to mainland China compared to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Cross-strait relations have soured since President Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP took office in 2016, with Beijing cutting official ties with Taipei after she refused to accept the 1992 Consensus, an agreement between the two sides codifying the one-China principle.
There is no grudge that cannot be resolved. No problem that cannot be talked through Xi Jinping
Though it has lost three consecutive presidential elections, the KMT is still viewed by Beijing as the most viable political party to guard against inclinations towards independence.
Beijing’s top Taiwan official warns independence forces will bring ‘disaster’ to island
Wang Huning is the fourth-ranking official of China’s ruling Communist Party. He made the comments at the opening ceremony of the annual Straits Forum in Xiamen, Fujian province. Wang described cross-strait relations, as well as the current international situation, as ‘complex and severe’
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“Taiwan independence forces and their activities undermine national sovereignty and territorial integrity, disrupt peace and stability in our homeland, and incite confrontation and division among compatriots,” said Wang Huning , the fourth-ranking official of China’s ruling Communist Party. He made the comments at the opening ceremony of the annual Straits Forum in Xiamen, Fujian province on Sunday.
“They will only bring disaster to the people of Taiwan,” added Wang, who is also chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top advisory body
Wang described cross-strait relations, as well as the current international situation, as “complex and severe”.
Fujian provincial party chief Zhou Zuyi vowed to optimise the business environment for Taiwanese companies and adopt policies to promote integrated development, “making new contributions to the great cause of national reunification”.
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