After Poor Showing at Polls, Taiwan's Ma Affirms China Policy

Before President Ma Ying-jeou of the National Party or KMT came to power, cross-strait relations between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China were overshadowed by provocations, threats and the constant fear of another military conflict. 18 months later, Taiwan's policy towards China has taken a U-turn.

"After taking office we have changed cross-strait relations with China. Our biggest desire is to change the Taiwan Strait from a battle zone into a road towards peace and prosperity. After more than a year, we have already partly achieved this goal. But there are still a lot of challenges ahead. We still have to move very carefully," says President Ma Ying-jeou.

Negotiating a framework treaty for economic cooperation

The 59 year old former mayor of Taipei has strengthened economic ties with the mainland. Regular scheduled flights were introduced, and bilateral trade has reached 88 billion Euros a year. Ma has plans to sign a free trade agreement with China in the near future, he says.

"Mainland China is our biggest trading partner. That's why negotiating with China regarding a framework treaty for economic cooperation is a good approach. On the one hand to normalize and structurize cross-strait economic and trade relations; on the other hand – because of our international diplomatic isolation – also to avoid being left alone during the process of forming an economic organization within Asia."

Betraying Taiwan's interests?

But his critics say that Ma is surrendering Taiwan’s interests to the Mainland. The opposition Democratic Progressive Party or DPP fears that his policy will give Beijing more and more power to control the island. Last week’s local elections in Taiwan showed that popular support for Ma and his party has decreased and that the DPP is gaining strength again - which some observers see as a setback for Ma's mainland policy. But Ma defends it, saying that the Taiwanese do not need to feel concerned about closer economic ties with China.

"Those treaties with China are for the good of Taiwan. They won't have any effect on the sovereignty of the Republic of China. There will always be someone criticizing our policy. That's why we have to get into a dialogue with our critics and show a high level of transparency. Let everyone know that the things we do are for the benefit of Taiwan."

If Ma flew to Beijing in the near future, he would be the first Taiwanese president to officially pay a visit to the Mainland. But so far, that’s only speculation, insists Ma: "At the moment I don't have any plans to visit Hu Jintao. I would not exclude the possibility of doing it in the future. Basically there should be a meeting. But it only makes sense if - prior to a meeting – we first reach an agreement on most of our major issues. Otherwise a meeting would be fruitless."

During his inaugural address in May 2008, Ma emphasized that he was neither for independence nor for reunification with Mainland China. In Taiwan’s interests, he has been trying to maintain his balancing act.

Author: Chi Viet Giang
Editor: Grahame Lucas