Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou on historic mainland China trip hopes 'peace can come to Taiwan soon'

March 27, 2023 at 5:30 AM·5 min read

Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou voiced hopes for a gradual return to warmer cross-strait ties as he embarked upon a landmark visit to mainland China, amid public anger back home over Taipei's loss of yet another diplomatic ally to Beijing.

"I have waited for 36 years for this chance to visit the mainland," Ma said before boarding his plane at Taoyuan International Airport, becoming the first former or current Taiwanese head of government to make such a journey since the Chinese civil war ended more than seven decades ago.

He had long been involved in cross-strait affairs, dating back to when he was 37 years of age, said Ma, who twice served as chairman of Taiwan's Beijing-friendly opposition party - the Kuomintang.

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Now 73 and retired, he was finally going to be able to set foot on the mainland, Ma said.

Supporters of former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou gather at Taoyuan airport to see him off on Monday. Photo: Reuters alt=Supporters of former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou gather at Taoyuan airport to see him off on Monday. Photo: Reuters>

His flight on mainland flag carrier Air China landed in Shanghai at 4.21pm on Monday.

Taiwanese media reports earlier said Ma would be given high-level protocol treatment during his stay and that he would be greeted by Song Tao, head of Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office.

But only the office's deputy director, Chen Yuanfeng, was among Chinese officials waiting at Pudong airport to receive Ma, before he was whisked away in a motorcade to board a train to Nanjing.

The senior KMT member was greeted with a bouquet, but there was no red carpet, as was rolled out for each visit by previous KMT heavyweights like former chairmen Lien Chan and Wu Po-hsiung.

Ma, whose 2008-2016 presidential term oversaw cross-strait ties at their warmest ever, is leading a delegation of about 30 students and several former aides on the 12-day private trip across five mainland cities.

Ma will also be paying respects at the graves of his ancestors, and has described his historic trip as a tribute to them to avoid any political overtones.

"I hope by bringing the university students to the mainland and through their exchanges with young people there, it would help improve the [tense] atmosphere across the Taiwan Strait so that peace can come to Taiwan soon," Ma told reporters at the airport.

According to his office, Ma was not expected to make any statement in Shanghai and would take a high-speed train to Nanjing to officially begin his trip, which will include stops in the cities of Wuhan, Changsha and Chongqing.

He will travel back to Shanghai next week before flying back to Taipei on April 7.

Ma is expected to talk to students at Wuhan University on March 31, at Hunan University in Changsha on April 2, and Fudan University in Shanghai on April 6, according to his foundation.

He will also meet senior officials and mainland-based Taiwanese entrepreneurs in Shanghai on April 5 and April 6, according to the itinerary made public by Shanghai city authorities.

Taiwanese media reported that Ma would deliver a speech at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum while in Nanjing but his office declined to confirm the reports.

It also steered clear of any political implications to Ma's visit, saying he would not visit Beijing or meet President Xi Jinping. Ma last met Xi in Singapore in 2015, shortly before the end of his second term as Taiwanese president.

Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore in November 2015, when cross-strait ties were warmer. Photo: AFP alt=Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore in November 2015, when cross-strait ties were warmer. Photo: AFP>

Ma is the first Taiwanese leader, former or current, to visit the mainland since defeat by the Communists saw the Kuomintang flee to Taiwan in 1949.

His trip also comes a day after Honduras, Taiwan's diplomatic ally for 82 years, switched formal recognition to Beijing, pledging "that the government of the People's Republic of China represents China as a whole" - or what the mainland calls its one-China principle.

Beijing sees Taiwan as a breakaway province and is opposed to the self-ruled island establishing formal ties with any sovereign states.

The move by the Central American country has left Taiwan with just 13 diplomatic allies.

Pro-independence protesters waved banners and chanted slogans as Ma was about to board his flight.

"When the world is condemning China for once again poaching our ally, how could it be possible for a former president like him to visit the autocratic regime and offer it his allegiance? Is he a beggar?" shouted one of the protesters.

Protesters shout slogans outside Taoyuan International Airport as Ma Ying-jeou leaves for mainland China. Photo: AP alt=Protesters shout slogans outside Taoyuan International Airport as Ma Ying-jeou leaves for mainland China. Photo: AP>

The pro-independence camp claims Ma's visit will make him a political tool of Beijing as it deploys a "united front" tactic against Taiwan.

Ma's office, however, said the anti-Beijing policy of current President Tsai Ing-wen's government was at fault for the growing tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

It noted that Ma's efforts to ease tensions and resume exchanges had been suspended since Tsai took office in 2016 and refused to accept the 1992 consensus on cross-strait ties signed between the KMT and Beijing.

Additional reporting by Ren Wei

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.