Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
-born
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
ese politician who served as
president of the Republic of China
The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had aut ...
from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as
justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and
mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006. He served as
chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 2005 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2014.
Ma first won the presidency by 58.45% of the popular vote in the
presidential election of 2008, and was re-elected in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
with 51.6% of the vote. He was sworn into office as president on 20 May 2008, and sworn in as the Chairman of the Kuomintang on 17 October 2009; he resigned as chairman of Kuomintang on 3 December 2014. Ma's term as president saw warmer
relations
Relation or relations may refer to:
General uses
*International relations, the study of interconnection of politics, economics, and law on a global level
*Interpersonal relationship, association or acquaintance between two or more people
*Public ...
with
Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
. He became the first ROC leader to meet with an incumbent
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has been the paramount leader o ...
(
PRC top leader) when he met
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...
in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
in
November 2015. Both leaders addressed each other using the honorific ''
Xiansheng
Sensei, Seonsaeng, Tiên sinh or Xiansheng, corresponding to Chinese characters , is an East Asian honorific term shared in Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese; it is literally translated as "person born before another" or "one who co ...
'' (Chinese: 先生, "Mister").
Early life
Ma and his parents originate from
Xiangtan,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
in the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
(now Hunan, People's Republic of China), and their
ancestral home was in
Fufeng
Fufeng County () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Baoji, in the west-central part of Shaanxi Province, China. The county lies in the fertile Guanzhong Plain on the north bank of the Wei River between Xi'an, to ...
,
Shaanxi Province
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningx ...
. His ancestors had migrated from Shaanxi to
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
and then finally to Hunan. Researchers had purportedly visited the old residence of Ma's father,
Ma Ho-ling (1920–2005), in
Kaiyun Town,
Hengshan County,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
, where they discovered a
genealogy book
A genealogy book or register is used in Asia and Europe to record the family history of ancestors.
Greater China
It is the Chinese tradition to record family members in a book, including every male born in the family, who they are married to, e ...
stating that Ma descended from
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
era general
Ma Chao. His mother was Chin Hou-hsiu (1922–2013). Ma was raised
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
![Ma Ying-jeou in one year old](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Ma_Ying-jeou_in_one_year_old.gif)
He was born in
Kwong Wah Hospital
Kwong Wah Hospital is a 1,141-bed Charitable district general hospital in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong. Located on 25 Waterloo Road, the hospital was founded by the Tung Wah Group in 1911, and managed by the Hospital Authority since 1991. It provide ...
in
Yau Ma Tei
Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong.
Name
''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, ...
in
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
, part of then-
British Hong Kong
Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...
, on 13 July 1950.
His parents were in Hong Kong on the way from
Hunan Province
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi t ...
of Communist China to Nationalist-held
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
after the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
. In a family of five children, Ma was the fourth child and the only son.
Ma earned his
LL.B. degree from
National Taiwan University in 1972. He served his compulsory military duty in the ROC Marine Corps and Navy from 1972 to 1974, obtaining the rank of lieutenant. He then pursued advanced studies in the United States, first earning an
LL.M.
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
degree from
New York University Law School in 1976 and then an
S.J.D. degree from
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
in 1981. An edited version of his thesis on the
Senkaku Islands dispute
The Senkaku Islands dispute, or Diaoyu Islands dispute, is a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, the Diaoyu Islands in the People's Republic of China (PRC), and Tiaoyutai Islands in ...
was published in 1984.
After receiving his master's, Ma worked as an associate for a
Wall Street
Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
law firm in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and as a legal consultant for a major bank in
in the US before completing his doctorate. Ma also spent time doing research at the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
School of Law and published some academic papers, so he has always felt a sense of gratitude toward the university. In 1981, Ma returned to Taiwan and started working for
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Chiang Ching-kuo.
Ma is married to
Christine Chow
Christine Chow Ma (Christine Chow Mei-ching) (; born November 30, 1952) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese lawyer and former First Lady of the Republic of China from 2008 until 2016. She is married to Ma Ying-jeou, the former president of Taiwan.
Bi ...
, and the couple has two daughters. Lesley (Ma Wei-chung, ) was born in 1981 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
while Ma was attending Harvard. She completed her undergraduate studies in life sciences at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and then her graduate studies at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
.
Ma's younger daughter is Ma Si-Rui, who was born in Taiwan and completed her masters at
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
and is currently pursuing her doctorate at
Nanyang Technological University
The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a national research university in Singapore. It is the second oldest autonomous university in the country and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in the world by various inte ...
.
[Next first lady may keep her Mega job](_blank)
. ''China Post
China Post, legally the China Post Group Corporation ( zh, 中国邮政集团有限公司, Pinyin: ''Zhōngguó yóuzhèng jítuán yǒuxiàn gōngsī''), is the state-owned enterprise operating the official postal service of China, which provi ...
''. 24 March 2008.
Ma and his wife sponsor children of
low-income families in
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
through
World Vision
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
. On an official trip to
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
in June 2009, Mrs. Ma was able to meet with one of her sponsored children, an 11-year-old boy in
San Salvador
San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...
.
Ma is the uncle of
Gene Yu
Gene Yu () is a United States Military Academy graduate, former U.S. Army Special Forces officer and author. He wrote the book ''Yellow Green Beret: Stories of an Asian-American Stumbling Around U.S. Army Special Forces (series), Yellow Green Bere ...
, an American, former US Army
Special Forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
captain and the author of the ''Yellow Green Beret: Stories of an Asian-American Stumbling Around U.S. Army Special Forces'' series of books. Yu was instrumental in negotiating, locating and working to free Taiwanese citizen Chang An-wei from
Abu Sayyaf militants with Filipino special forces and private security contractors in 2013.
Controversy over birthplace
On 11 December 2008,
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
(DPP) legislator
Chai Trong-rong
Chai Trong-rong (; June 13, 1935 – January 11, 2014), sometimes known in English as Trong Chai, was a Taiwanese politician.
Born in Japanese-era Taiwan, Chai earned his master's and doctorate degrees in the United States. He was a pro-democ ...
called a
press conference and produced a document that alleges Ma's
birthplace
The place of birth (POB) or birthplace is the place where a person was born. This place is often used in legal documents, together with name and date of birth, to uniquely identify a person. Practice regarding whether this place should be a cou ...
to be contrary to what is officially reported. On this document, the birth certificate for one of Ma's daughters, Ma fills out "
Shengchin" as his own birthplace, contradictory to his officially reported birthplace of "Hong Kong".
Chai also noted that First Lady
Christine Chow
Christine Chow Ma (Christine Chow Mei-ching) (; born November 30, 1952) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese lawyer and former First Lady of the Republic of China from 2008 until 2016. She is married to Ma Ying-jeou, the former president of Taiwan.
Bi ...
's birthplace was listed as "
Nanking, China
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...
", though she is listed as also being born in Hong Kong.
Chai claimed that since Ma was born after 1949 and in
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
, he is legally a
citizen
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Presidential Spokesperson Wang Yu-chi () responded to Chai's charges by reaffirming that all information from the President's Office regarding the President's birth is accurate. Wang also informed that Ma, on his 11 December visit to Hong Kong, was able to obtain records of his birth at Kowloon's
Kwong-Wah Hospital
Kwong Wah Hospital is a 1,141-bed Charitable hospital in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong. Located on 25 Waterloo Road, Kwong Wah Hospital is the main district general hospital was founded by the Tung Wah Group in 1911, and managed by the Hospital Auth ...
and Ma also keeps the original of his
birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuin ...
issued by the
Registrar General of Hong Kong,
thereby confirming once again his birth in the former
British colony
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...
instead of mainland China. Copies of Ma's birth certificate have also been previously shown to the public. Wang also dispelled rumors that Ma had received
affirmative action in his applications to
Jianguo High School and the
National Taiwan University with an "
overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese.
Terminology
() or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...
" status.
Rise in politics
In the 1980s Ma Ying-jeou started working for
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Chiang Ching-kuo as Deputy Director of the First Bureau of the Presidential Office and the President's English interpreter. Ma was later promoted to the chair of the
Research, Development and Evaluation Commission
The Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC; ) was a branch of the Executive Yuan of the Taiwan (ROC). The commission was responsible for policy research and development, policy planning, policy supervision and evaluation, government ...
under the
Executive Yuan
The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan.
...
at the age of 38, becoming the youngest cabinet member in the ROC government.
Ma was deputy
secretary-general
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
of the
KMT
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Taiw ...
from 1984 to 1988, also serving for a period as deputy of the
Mainland Affairs Council
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is a cabinet-level administrative agency under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China in Taiwan.
The MAC is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of the cross-strait relations po ...
(MAC), a cabinet-level body in charge of
cross-strait relations. President
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He was the fir ...
appointed him
ROC Justice Minister in 1993. Ma was relieved of his post in 1996. His supporters claim that firing was caused by his efforts at fighting corruption among politicians and the police. He remained a supporter of the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
, rather than supporting the
New Party formed by KMT supporters who campaigned on an anti-corruption platform. Ma returned to academia and most people at the time believed his political career to have effectively ended.
Mayoralty
![2006INGTaipeiMarathon YJMa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/2006INGTaipeiMarathon_YJMa.jpg)
In 1998, the KMT fielded Ma to challenge the then-incumbent Taipei mayor
Chen Shui-bian of the opposition
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
(DPP), who was seeking re-election. Despite Chen's public approval rating of around 70%, he was defeated.
In the
2000 Presidential Election, Ma remained loyal to the KMT and supported its candidate,
Lien Chan, over
James Soong, who had bolted from the party and was running as an independent. The competition between Lien and Soong split the Pan-Blue vote and allowed his former rival Chen to win the presidential election with less than 50% of the popular vote. The election result, combined with other factors, incited a great deal of anger against Ma when he tried to dissuade discontented Lien and Soong supporters from protesting by appealing to them in his dual capacities as Taipei City mayor and a high-ranking KMT member.
Ma was able to repair the political damage and, in December 2002, became the leading figure in the KMT by easily winning reelection as mayor of Taipei with the support of 64% of Taipei voters while DPP challenger
Lee Ying-yuan
Lee Ying-yuan (; 16 March 1953 – 11 November 2021) was a Taiwanese politician. He was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1995 and stepped down in 2000. In 2005, Lee was appointed the Minister of Council of Labor Affairs, which he led until 200 ...
received 36%. His solid victory, especially in light of opposition from both President Chen and former President and KMT chairman
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He was the fir ...
, led many to speculate about his chances as the KMT candidate for the 2004 presidential elections, although nothing came of it.
Ma again dissuaded angry Pan-Blue supporters from protesting, following the very close re-election victory of President Chen in 2004 after the
3–19 shooting incident. Ma chose not to join in calls to challenge or contest the election. Ma also avoided associating himself with claims that the assassination was staged.
Ma suffered some political damage as a result of the
SARS epidemic in early 2003 and was criticized for not mobilizing the Taipei city government quickly enough and for keeping Chiu Shu-ti, the public health director, who was previously criticized for her lack of concern for the outbreak.
Flooding in metropolitan Taipei in 2004 also led to public questioning of his leadership and caused Ma's approval rating to slide.
During his time as Taipei's mayor, Ma had many conflicts with the central government over matters such as health insurance rates and control of the water supply during the drought. Ma also was implicated in a scandal of
Taipei Bank stock releases in 2003. However, the case was dismissed after an investigation by the Taipei prosecutor. He was strongly criticized by the
DPP
DPP may stand for:
Business
*Digital Production Partnership, of UK public service broadcasters
* Direct Participation Program, a financial security
* Discounted payback period
Photography
* Digital Photo Professional, Canon software
Law en ...
for not allowing the ROC national flag to be flown along with a PRC flag during
Asian Women's Football Championship held in Taipei. Ma responded that he was merely following Olympic
protocol
Protocol may refer to:
Sociology and politics
* Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states
* Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state
* Etiquette, a code of personal behavior
Science and technology
...
, which only officially recognizes the
Chinese Taipei Olympic Flag and forbids ROC national flags from being shown in an Olympic Game Stadium.
His initiatives in administering the city of Taipei include changing the transliterations of street names and the line and stations of the
Taipei Metro to
Hanyu Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
, as opposed to
Tongyong Pinyin
Tongyong Pinyin () was the official romanization of Mandarin in Taiwan between 2002 and 2008. The system was unofficially used between 2000 and 2002, when a new romanization system for Taiwan was being evaluated for adoption. Taiwan's Ministry of ...
. Ma has expressed mild support for
Chinese unification
Chinese unification, also known as the Cross-Strait unification or Chinese reunification, is the potential unification of territories currently controlled, or claimed, by the People's Republic of China ("China" or "Mainland China") and the ...
and opposition to
Taiwan independence
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
. He opposed the
2004 referendum, which had been widely criticized by the U.S. and PRC. Nevertheless, his opposition to the
Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China
The Anti-Secession Law () is a law of the People's Republic of China, passed by the 3rd Session of the 10th National People's Congress. It was ratified on March 14, 2005, and went into effect immediately. President Hu Jintao promulgated ...
, while other leaders of his party remained silent on the issue, led to him being banned from visiting
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
to make a public speaking tour in 2005. He also criticized the PRC for the
Tian'anmen crackdown.
Ma's cross-political following has led some to note him as a rare example of relative civility in the notoriously rough and tumble world of Taiwanese politics. Ma has generally avoided being accused of using the vitriolic and sometimes offensive rhetoric common in Taiwanese political debate. His academic background and bearing have helped cultivate the image of Ma as an honest, dispassionate technocrat. Despite this reputation, and his wooden speaking style and shy demeanor, Ma is also considered a charismatic figure and is popular among women and youth. On the other hand, Ma's critics claim that Ma, overeager to appear unbiased and/or neutral, is overly indecisive and lacks bold vision. Ma is often accused of avoiding being out in front on some of the more vigorous or controversial criticisms of President Chen or opposing parties, or involving himself in intra-party disputes. Among these critics, Ma has been referred to as a "
non-stick
A non-stick surface is engineered to reduce the ability of other materials to stick to it. Non-stick cookware is a common application, where the non-stick coating allows food to brown without sticking to the pan. Non-stick is often used to refer ...
pan" or "
Teflon
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemou ...
-man." Recently, there has also been some criticism of his stumping for election candidates suspected of and later indicted for corruption charges. Many in the
Pan-Green Coalition expressed opinions that Ma misled voters by lending his clean charismatic image to unscrupulous candidates in his own party.
In recent years, Ma has increasingly employed
Taiwanese (Hoklo) in public speaking, perhaps to avoid backlash for his parents' mainland China origins, and he has called himself a "child of
Bangka (Wanhua)", identifying himself with the historic district of Taipei where he grew up. Others claim that Ma's mainland Chinese ancestry will further alienate members of the KMT who are "light-blue" vs. the pro-unification "deep-blue."
Mayoral controversies
While often nicknamed as the "Teflon pot" for his extreme preservation of his personal image, Ma was nonetheless caught in some political controversies. A series of mishaps during his tenure as the mayor of Taipei, including the administration problems that enlarged the extent of the
Typhoon Nari (納莉風災), the shutdown of Hoping Hospital (和平封院事件), the
Phosgene
Phosgene is the organic chemical compound with the formula COCl2. It is a toxic, colorless gas; in low concentrations, its musty odor resembles that of freshly cut hay or grass. Phosgene is a valued and important industrial building block, espe ...
Incident (捷運光氣事件), the
Scalping Incident (捷運扯頭皮事件) and the Human Ball Scandal (邱小妹人球事件) (in which a severely beaten four-year-old girl was bounced from hospital to hospital without treatment, until she died of her injuries), impaired Ma's reputation. However, Ma maneuvered through these incidents relatively unscathed.
One of Ma's most satisfactory mayoral constructions was the
Maokong Gondola. However, the frequent breakdown of the gondola earned the residents' distrust of the new transportation system. One poll showed only 14% of the Taipei City residents were satisfied with it, and it even led to protests. The Taiwan Environmental Information Center (台灣環境資訊協會) states that the choice to use a
gondola lift
A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supp ...
intended for
temperate zone
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
s in a
tropical zone
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
shows the failure of the Taipei City government led by Ma.
[Lee Yu-chi]
貓纜通車首日故障 爆出市府公共政策問題
'', Taiwan Environmental Information Center, 5 July 2007''
Corruption allegations
On 14 November 2006, Ma was questioned by prosecutors over his alleged misuse of a special expenses account as Taipei mayor. This occurred after
Chen Shui-Bian was being investigated for corruption, and many KMT supporters believed that this prosecution was politically motivated.
At the same time, rumors surfaced that former party chairman
Lien Chen
Lien Chan (; born 27 August 1936) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the Chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government from 1990 to 1993, Premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, Vice President of the Republic of China from 1996 to 200 ...
would run in the presidential election of 2008. The incident may have affected the clean image of Ma and his political future. The next day, Ma admitted one of his aides forged receipts to claim Ma's expenses as Taipei mayor, and apologized for the latest political scandal. However, Ma argued that he, like most other government officials, regarded the special expense account as supplemental salary for personal expenses undertaken in the course of official duties and that his use of this account was legal.
On 13 February 2007, Ma was indicted by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office on charges of allegedly embezzling approximately NT$11 million (US$339,000), regarding the issue of "special expenses" while he was mayor of Taipei. The prosecutor's office said that Ma had allegedly used government funds for personal use, such as paying for one of his daughter's living expenses while studying abroad and paying for his household utilities. Before that, Ma had admitted personal usage and claims that the special funds were simply a part of his salary but had used all funds for public use or public benefit (
charity donations).
Shortly after the indictment, he submitted his resignation as chairman of the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
in accordance with party rules which prohibit an indicted person from serving as KMT chairman The resignation was initially rejected but then accepted by the party's Central Standing Committee before amending a clause that barred members from running for office if charged with a crime. Shortly after the resignation, however, Ma announced his presidential candidacy.
On 14 August 2007, the Taipei District Court found Ma not guilty of corruption. Ma's defense is that he viewed "Special Expenses" as essentially "Special Allowance", originally designed to compensate for mayor's "social spending" without actually raising salary. On 28 December 2007, the Taiwan High Court found Ma again not guilty of graft charges.
On 24 April 2008, the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
cleared Ma of corruption charges, delivering a final ruling in this matter before his inauguration on 20 May 2008. The island's highest court said Ma had neither collected illegal income nor tried to break the law. Ma's secretary, however, was found guilty and faced a year in prison for his own failures in administrative duties.
KMT chairmanship
Ma's prestige increased after the loss by
Lien Chan in the
2004 ROC presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Taiwan on 20 March 2004. A consultative referendum took place on the same day regarding relations with the People's Republic of China.
President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu of the Democratic ...
, as he is widely seen as the successor of
Lien Chan. His handling of the post-election demonstrations of the
Pan-Blue Coalition
The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
, in which he at one point sent riot police to control the demonstrations of his pan-blue party supporters, was generally seen as impartial. In 2005, Ma and
Wang Jin-pyng were candidates in the first competitive election for KMT chairmanship. On 5 April 2005, in an exclusive interview with
CTV talk show host
Sisy Chen
Sisy Chen or Chen Wen-hsien (; born 25 March 1958) is a Taiwanese journalist, television commentator, writer and former politician. She hosts ''Sisy's World News'', a weekly newscast at the Chung T'ien Television and ''UFO Dinner'', a daily radi ...
, Ma said he wished to lead the opposition Kuomintang with Wang, if he were elected its chairman, as their support bases are complementary. On 16 July 2005, Ma defeated Wang by a 72% to 28% margin, a margin larger than anticipated by either camp or news sources, despite Wang receiving a last-minute endorsement by the
People First Party (PFP) chairman
James Soong, who had retained significant following within the KMT. Some, particularly the supporters of
Wang Jin-pyng, accuse Ma of unfairly implying that Wang is involved in "
black gold" and criticized Ma's aides for being rude to Wang during the campaign. After the election, Ma had stated repeatedly that he wishes Wang to remain as first-ranked deputy chairman. Wang, however, has so far rebuffed the gesture, instead stating that he wishes to serve as a "permanent
volunteer." Wang has, indeed, accepted a party post that is incompatible with vice chairmanship, effectively ending the possibility that he would be vice chairman, although after meeting with Wang, Ma had stated that he would "leave the position open" for Wang. Ma has also repeatedly stated that he had no plans to resign from the Taipei mayorship, even after he formally took over the chairmanship from incumbent Lien Chan during the 17th Party Congress of the KMT in August 2005.
Led by Ma Ying-jeou, the Kuomintang made a resounding win in the
three-in-one election held on 3 December 2005. The KMT gained six more seats in the mayoral/magistratical race, from eight seats in the last election, to a total of fourteen seats. Before the election, Ma swore that he would quit the chairmanship if his party could not win over half of the seats, which was a first for a KMT chairman. It was a decisive win for Ma Ying-jeou as well, since he took over the party chairmanship only 110 days before. In the election, the KMT won back the counties of Taipei and Yilan, and the city of Chiayi, which had been the
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
(DPP)'s strongholds for over twenty years. It was the first time in many years that the KMT regained popularity as far south as
Cho-Shui River (Zhuo-Shui River).
Presidency
2008 presidential campaign
![080321 - 馬英九 (2348700429)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/080321_-_%E9%A6%AC%E8%8B%B1%E4%B9%9D_%282348700429%29.jpg)
On the same day he resigned as chairman of the KMT, Ma also announced his intention to run in the 2008 presidential election. He was the official nominee of the Kuomintang for the 2008 presidential election.
Ma visited
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
in June 2007 to increase bilateral exchanges as well as to gain legitimacy and experience for his 2008 presidential bid.
Ma's vice-presidential running mate was former premier
Vincent Siew, Lien Chan's running mate in the 2000 presidential election.
During a campaigning event in an
aboriginal
Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to:
*Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology
* Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area
*One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
community, Ma made a controversial remark. Responding to a question from an aboriginal woman, Ma said, "If you come into the city, you are a Taipei citizen... Aborigines should adjust their mentality – if you come into the city you have to play by its rules." This statement was thought to be extremely inappropriate.
U.S. green card issue
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
candidate
Frank Hsieh questioned Ma for his possession of a
US Permanent Resident Card. Ma denied having one and publicly expressed that no members of his family had one.
However, the fact that Ma and his wife had applied for green cards and that his sisters and his elder daughter
Lesley Weichung Ma
Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from 1 ...
are
United States citizens
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
caused controversy, as the DPP continued to question Ma's loyalty to the country.
["DPP continues attack on Ma Ying-jeou"](_blank)
'', Taipei Times, 31 January 2008'' In response to the DPP attack on the US citizenship of his sisters and daughter, Ma commented that having a US passport or green card did not necessarily mean that someone was not loyal to Taiwan.
A week before the presidential election, incumbent President
Chen Shui-bian vowed to quit if Ma could provide legal documents of the invalidation of his green card. The DPP presidential candidate
Frank Hsieh also said that he was willing to withdraw from the race if Ma could prove, using official documents, that his green card was invalidated twenty years ago. Ma responded the next day to the president that he should work on improving Taiwan's
economy
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
instead of caring about the election so much; earlier, Ma also provided copies of US non-immigrant visas issued to him during the 1980s and 1990s, claiming the card was invalid, as such visas are not issued to green card holders.
Environmental criticism
Ma has been criticized by many
environmental group
The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advoc ...
s. His mayoral construction of the
Maokong Gondola was criticized by the Taiwan Environmental Information Center.
The construction of the
Taipei Arena also drew negative reactions from these groups. The Society of Wilderness (SOW; 荒野保護協會) pointed out that of the three hundred and eighty-four trees that were moved for the construction, more than a hundred had already died.
The city government said that the ages of the trees are unknown; therefore, they are not protected by law. The SOW then responded that, according to pictures taken by the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
in 1947 and 1948, these trees were present already during the
Japanese rule era.
During his presidential campaign, Ma participated in one of the
debates that discussed many topics, including
environmental protection
Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...
. The Taiwan Academy of Ecology evaluated the policies of both candidates
Hsieh
Xie (; ) is a Chinese-language surname. lt is usually romanized as "Hsieh" in Taiwan. It is estimated that there are more than ten million people with this surname, the majority of whom live in Taiwan, Southern China, South East Asia, America, ...
and Ma, and the secretary of its workstation in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
said that both candidates failed their expectations, but they had more hope for Hsieh than Ma because Ma's environmental concepts lack considerations of reality.
In February 2008, several environmental groups created a list of commitments for the two candidates to sign. DPP candidate
Frank Hsieh agreed to all the items on the list and signed it in March. Ma did not and emailed the group instead. The Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) criticized Ma for ignoring important issues and not having the guts to sign the commitments.
After Ma was elected president on 22 March 2008, the
Green Party Taiwan
Green Party Taiwan is a political party in Taiwan established on 25 January 1996. Although the party is sympathetic to Taiwan nationalism and shares a number of centre-left positions with the Pan-Green Coalition, the party emphasizes campaign ...
expressed its fear that president-elect Ma would focus too much on improving the
economy
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
and would ignore many critical environmental issues. The head of the Environmental Quality Protection Foundation also emphasized the importance of environmental protection as one of the factors of economic development.
Inauguration
![Ma Ying-jeou and Christopher Loeak at National Theater 20130327](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Ma_Ying-jeou_and_Christopher_Loeak_at_National_Theater_20130327.jpg)
Ma officially won on 22 March 2008 with 58% of the vote, ending eight years of
DPP
DPP may stand for:
Business
*Digital Production Partnership, of UK public service broadcasters
* Direct Participation Program, a financial security
* Discounted payback period
Photography
* Digital Photo Professional, Canon software
Law en ...
rule and becoming officially recognized as the sixth president of the Republic of China. Ma won with 7,659,014 votes against
Hsieh's 5,444,949 votes. Ma's overwhelming victory in the presidential election gave him political mandate to make changes in Taiwan.
Ma took office on 20 May 2008. The inaugural ceremony took place in the
Taipei Arena in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
. A
state dinner took place in
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
the same day.
Ma was named among the 2008
Time 100
''Time'' 100 (often stylized as ''TIME'' 100) is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, po ...
in its "Leaders & Revolutionaries" section. He is described by ''Time'' as "one of those rare politicians who have an opportunity to shape the destiny not only of their own nation but also of an entire region."
On 12 August 2008, Ma embarked on his first foreign trip as president. Ma's visit centered upon improving relations with Taiwan's Latin American allies. He attended the inaugurations of both
Leonel Fernández of the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
and
Fernando Lugo
Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez (; born 30 May 1951) is a Paraguayan politician and laicized Catholic bishop who was President of Paraguay from 2008 to 2012. Previously he was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop, serving as Bishop of the Diocese ...
of
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
. Ma also made a stop at
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
and met with President
Martin Torrijos. There was an emphasis that there would be no new aid packages during the visits; if any new economic aid were to be announced, they would be announced from Taiwan and not from abroad. The trip included U.S. stop-overs in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, and
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
. Ma's trip across the Pacific was via commercial flight and only chartered a smaller jet from the United States; he was accompanied by an 81-member delegation.
Cross-strait relations
Ma, in his inaugural address, laid out his promise in dealing with cross-strait relations that there would be "no reunification, no independence, and no war" (不統, 不獨, 不武) during his tenure as president. Critics argue that Ma, rather than follow his campaign promise, has been following his father's will instead, where
Ma Ho-ling clearly states his final words were "Repress independence supporters; Lead (Taiwan) to unification." During an interview in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 2006, Ma affirmed that his goal was to lead Taiwan to "eventual unification."
An article published in the 11 August 2008 edition of ''
Time Magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...
'' said that in less than three months' time, "relations between Taiwan and PRC have arguably seen the most rapid advancement in the six-decade standoff between the two governments. Ma launched direct
weekend charter flights between PRC and Taiwan for the first time, opened Taiwan to mainland Chinese tourists, eased restrictions on Taiwan investment in mainland China and approved measures that will allow mainland Chinese investors to buy Taiwan stocks." He has also loosened bans on "Chinese brides," leading to social unrest over Chinese women who marry old veterans but file for divorce after they obtain citizenship.
During the
Second Chen-Chiang summit visit by
Chen Yunlin
Chen Yunlin (; born December 1941) was the chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), the body responsible for negotiations with Taiwan in the People's Republic of China in 2008–2013.
Early life
Chen was born ...
on 3 November 2008, chairman of the Beijing-based
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARAT), the opposition
Pan-Green Coalition criticized the visit as "taking steps toward eventual reunification" and damaging Taiwan's sovereignty. Opposition to the visit by the chairman of the ARAT also
sparked massive peaceful rallies and protests organised by the opposition DPP party on 25 October 2008. Preliminary estimates place the number of protesters at around 500,000.
Protesters accused Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou "of making too many concessions and moving too fast in relaxing restrictions on trade and investment with China."
Government's polls have suggested that Chen Yunlin's visit and the government's policy of normalising cross-strait relations have support of 50% to 60% of the Taiwanese population.
Chen's visit was the highest level visit from mainland China to Taiwan that had taken place since the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
in 1949. Chen was expected to meet with his Taipei-based counterpart,
Chiang Pin-kung beginning on 4 November 2008. The two sides signed four agreements on 5 November, detailing the loosening of restrictions with regards to air, marine, and postal links as well as better regulations on food safety. The Ma government refused to disclose the treaties only until days before they went into effect.
During Chen's visit in Taipei, he was met with a series of strong protests directed at himself and Ma Ying-jeou, some of which were violent, with
Molotov cocktails
A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...
being thrown by the protesters at riot police. A series of arrests were made after the protests, with a secret letter being sent from the police to a member of the media. Local police reported that 149 of its officers were injured during the opposition protests. Chen referred to Ma simply as "Mr. Ma," not as "President". However, this is consistent with the previous convention in 2008, when KMT ex-politician
Lien Chan met
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...
in Peru. Lien did not call the
PRC leader Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...
"
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
," but instead used his title "
General Secretary
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
" as the
leader of the Chinese Communist Party
The leader of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the highest-ranking official and head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Since 1982, the leader of the CCP is equivalent to the office of the General Secretary of the Cen ...
(CCP) and the top position in
PRC government
The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...
.
After the chaos during and after Chen's visit, college students and professors launched a peaceful sitout, known as the
Wild Strawberry student movement (), demanding a more reasonable assembly law and a stop to police violence. A few days into the sitout, the prime minister Liu Chao-shiuan accidentally spoke of his opinion during an interview on air that he did not think the movement would last more than three days, angering students, professors, and the general public. In the end, the sitout lasted one month. Then, it moved into an organizational direction. However, the polls in two of Taiwan's biggest newspapers after the visit still reported that about 70% of the Taiwanese public considered Chen's visit to have a positive effect on Taiwan's development, while 22% of the respondents thought the effect would be negative, with the remaining 8% not expressing an opinion. The opposition
Pan-Green
The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (T ...
caucus have continuously alleged this result being a form of
media manipulation
Media manipulation is a series of related techniques in which partisans create an image or argument that favors their particular interests. Such tactics may include the use of logical fallacies, manipulation, outright deception (disinformation) ...
by the KMT. However, other major polls in Taiwanese newspapers and news websites have shown similar results regardless of political alignment.
![2015 Ma–Xi Meeting 08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/2015_Ma%E2%80%93Xi_Meeting_08.jpg)
On 7 November 2015, Ma
met and shook hands with the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
General Secretary
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...
in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
within their capacity as ''Leader of Taiwan'' and ''
Leader of Mainland China'' respectively. The meeting marked the first ever meeting between leaders of both sides since the end of Chinese Civil War in 1949.
Economic issues
![Voa chinese ma ying jeou tw 09Oct10 480](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Voa_chinese_ma_ying_jeou_tw_09Oct10_480.jpg)
One of Ma's promises as presidential candidate was called the "633 Plan", which promised
economic growth rate
Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of ...
of 6%,
unemployment rate of less than 3%, and
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
of more than
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
30,000. At the time, the high unemployment rate (~4.06% in July) and consumer price index three months after Ma's inauguration were unprecedented, having not been seen in 28 years.
The economic downturn caused about 2,000 companies in Taiwan to go bankrupt in the six months following Ma's inauguration, according to a governmental commercial office in Taipei. The
Taiwan Stock Exchange
The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TWSE; ) is a financial institution, located in Taipei 101, in Taipei, Taiwan. The TWSE was established in 1961 and began operating as a stock exchange on 9 February 1962. It is regulated by the Financial S ...
also fell to two-year lows in September 2008.
On 11 September 2008, Ma's cabinet unveiled a $5.6-billion USD ($180-billion TWD) economic stimulus package. Among the items of the package were infrastructure projects, economic incentives to small businesses, and other tax cuts. Stock transaction taxes were also halved for the next six months. Taiwan's economy was projected to grow 4.3% in 2008, down from 5.7 in 2007, according to
Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency and is one of the " Big Three credit rating agencies", the other two being Moody's and Standard & Poor's. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) ...
.
Although an economic stimulus plan was introduced, Taiwan stocks still closed lower on 11 September 2008. The
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
describes Taiwan's economic downturn as results from "downward pressure driven by global factors." Analysts also point out that, "during its first 100 days in office, the government has made a series of bold steps to deregulate economic Cross-Strait ties. But as these policies coincided with the global downturn and foreign investors had already bought Taiwan stocks heavily before the election, betting on the reforms, the island's market has seen a sell-off worse than the regional average." Taiwan's government reported that the economy contracted 8.36 percent during the last three months of 2008. Taiwan's economy rebounded by growing 10% in 2010. A free trade agreement with China was signed in 2010 called the
Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement
The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) is a free trade agreement (FTA) between the governments of the People's Republic of China (mainland China, PRC, commonly "China") and the Republic of China (ROC, commonly "Taiwan"), that aims ...
(ECFA), which was accompanied by a
debate and a
protest
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
.
Direct links policy
On 15 December 2008, Taiwan and the Chinese mainland resumed direct sea, air, and mail links, ending an almost six-decade-long ban between the two sides on such trips. Previous flights between the two regions required a connection in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. As many as 108 flights per week as well as 60 cargo flights per month were scheduled, evenly divided between Taiwanese and mainland Chinese airlines.
Shipping companies, due to shorter voyages and time savings, are able to save up to US$120 million (TWD $4 billion) each year. Previously, shipping companies from both sides of the strait were required to reroute their ships into third-country waters. The two sides also agreed that neither the ROC nor the PRC flag will be displayed when a ship enters port.
In July 2009, Ma rejected the proposal to open the airspace of the Taiwan Strait to accommodate higher passenger traffic, citing that the Taiwan Strait airspace is important to Taiwanese security.
Bid for KMT leadership
Ma Ying-jeou registered as the sole candidate for the
election of the KMT chairman on 25 June 2009 and won the next day with 93.87% of the vote. Ma inaugurated as the chairman of the Kuomintang on 12 September 2009. This would allow Ma to be able to meet with
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(PRC)
paramount leader
Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...
(at the time the
CCP general secretary
The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the Party leader, head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secr ...
) and other PRC delegates, as he would be able to represent the KMT as the leader of a Chinese political party, rather than as head-of-state of a political entity unrecognized by the PRC. Ma, however, ruled out meeting his PRC counterpart Hu Jintao in a 14 July 2009 interview with Taiwan's Commercial Times newspaper. In the interview, Ma states, "A meeting in the capacity of a party chairman will not solve the problem because other people would still insist that I meet him as the president."
Typhoon Morakot
Typhoon Morakot
Typhoon Morakot, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Kiko, was the deadliest typhoon to impact Taiwan in recorded history. The eighth named storm and fourth typhoon of the 2009 Pacific typhoon season, Morakot wrought catastrophic damage in Taiwa ...
, the worst typhoon to strike Taiwan in fifty years, hit Taiwan on 8 August 2009. In the storm's aftermath, President Ma was criticized for his handling of the disaster by both sides of Taiwan's political spectrum. Many news outlets likened Typhoon Morakot to being Ma's "
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
." Editorials and political commentators accused Ma of, among other charges, poor leadership and poor crisis management. Many critics believe that hundreds of lives could have been spared, had the Ma administration been aware of the typhoon's seriousness. Taiwan's political commentators were most critical of Ma's refusal to declare a state of emergency and fully mobilize the military. Instead, Ma Ying-jeou blamed the local governments, which were under the control of the DPP in Southern Taiwan, for not having the villagers evacuated earlier. Ma's approval ratings sank from 52% (in May) to 29% in a
United Daily News
''United Daily News'' (UDN; ) is a newspaper published in Taiwan. It is considered to support the pan-Blue Coalition in its editorials.
History
UDN was founded in 1951 by Wang Tiwu as a merger of three newspapers, ''Popular Daily'' (全民 ...
poll. In an August 2009 CNN online poll, 82% of respondents wanted Ma to resign. An editorial piece lambasted Ma, saying, "
ahas been distant and arrogant, and he has only made
ictimsmore angry instead of comforting them...He has not shown decisiveness required in a leader when facing a sudden disaster."
Following pressure from the opposition, Ma took steps to publicly apologize for his government's failure to respond swiftly with rescue and recovery efforts. Ma cancelled 2009's Double Ten Day national celebrations and his state visit to the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
for the Third Taiwan-South Pacific summit. A probe was launched to investigate why government response was slow and inadequate, and vice foreign minister
Andrew Hsia tendered his resignation to Ma's premier,
Liu Chao-shiuan. Defense minister
Chen Chao-min
Chen Chao-min (; born 10 July 1940) was the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of China in 2008–2009.
Education
Chen studied at the War College of the Armed Forces University.
ROC Minister of National Defense
Resignation
Chen re ...
also resigned before Liu himself stepped down.
Another controversy arose in the disaster's aftermath involved a document leaked from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that instructed the ROC embassies and representative offices to turn down aid from foreign nations. Vice Foreign Minister Andrew Hsia made an explanation, saying that it was meant to say "presently" foreign aids were not needed, but nevertheless took the blame and offered to resign. However, critics were convinced that Hsia's resignation was only to cover-up the fact that Ma gave the order to turn down foreign aid.
2012 presidential campaign
Ma was eligible for a second term as president and ran for re-election.
In June 2011, when incumbent Vice President Vincent Siew announced he will retire and not seek a second term, Premier
Wu Den-yih was chosen to replace Siew on the KMT's 2012 ticket. Ma was re-elected President with 51.6% of the vote against
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
chairwoman
Tsai Ing-wen.
Post-presidency
On 1 June 2016, it was announced that Ma planned to visit
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
on 15 June to attend the 2016 Award for Editorial Excellence dinner at the
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong, along with AsiaWorld–Expo. It is located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbou ...
and would deliver a speech on
Cross-Strait relations and East Asia. The Tsai Ing-wen administration blocked Ma from traveling to Hong Kong, and he gave prepared remarks via teleconference instead.
In August 2016,
Soochow University confirmed that Ma had rejoined the faculty as a lecturer. On 26 September 2016, Ma gave his first lecture which was about the
history of Taiwan
The history of the island of Taiwan dates back tens of thousands of years to the earliest known evidence of human habitation. The sudden appearance of a culture based on agriculture around 3000 BC is believed to reflect the arrival of the ances ...
. Yet, as a chair professor of law, Ma was protested by students at Soochow University to ask for his resignation since he has repeatedly controversial legal opinions.
On 11 October 2016, Ma's office announced that he had accepted an invitation to attend and become one of the speakers at the World Chinese Economic Summit in
Malacca
Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
which would take place on 16–17 November 2016.
In October 2017, a court ruled in Ma's favor in a defamation case he had brought against
Liang Wen-chieh
Liang may refer to:
Chinese history
* Liang (state) (梁) (8th century BC – 641 BC), a Spring and Autumn period state
* Wei (state) (403–225 BC), a Warring States period state, also known as Liang (梁) after moving its capital to Daliang
* ...
(梁文傑) of the
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
in 2011, after Liang had claimed on TV that Ma had received NT$300 million in illegal political donations during a meeting with Chen Ying-chu (陳盈助).
The court ordered Liang to pay NT$1.2 million (US$39,643).
Family
Ma's father is
Ma Ho-ling, his mother is
Chin Hou-hsiu
The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible ( mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm.
Evolution
The presence of a well-developed chin is considered to be one ...
() and his wife is
Christine Chow Ma
Christine Chow Ma (Christine Chow Mei-ching) (; born November 30, 1952) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese lawyer and former First Lady of the Republic of China from 2008 until 2016. She is married to Ma Ying-jeou, the former president of Taiwan.
Bi ...
. Apart from that, he has two daughters,
Ma Wei-chung () and
Kelly Ma ().
Ma speaks
Hunanese,
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
Political positions
View on independence
In February 2006, while visiting
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, Ma said that although he and the KMT favor eventual unification, the KMT respects the opinions of Taiwanese people and independence is a choice for the people of Taiwan. This caused widespread criticism within the party and from the PRC. In a December 2005 Newsweek International interview, when asked about unification, Ma stated that "for our party, the eventual goal is reunification, but we don't have a timetable." Perhaps to deflect heavy criticism from the
Pan-Green Coalition, the KMT later published an advertisement in the ''
Liberty Times
The ''Liberty Times'' is a national newspaper published in Taiwan. Founded by Lin Rong-San, it is published by the Liberty Times Group, which also publishes ''Taipei Times'', an English language newspaper . The newspaper was first published on 1 ...
'' recognizing that independence is an option for the Taiwanese people.
Wang Jin-pyng praised Ma for the policy shift, since Wang himself made a similar statement during the 2004 election, but
James Soong said he was "shocked" and
Lien Chan said he was never consulted. This event actually won some welcome voices from Southern Taiwan, where voters customarily favor the
Pan-Green Coalition. One top KMT official said "we might as well let the measles out now so that we will be immune to it when election year comes close, because reunification or independence can be a hot topic by then."
![Ma Ying-jeou (5946)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Ma_Ying-jeou_%285946%29.JPG)
Ma clarified later that the current KMT policy of retaining the status quo has not changed and has reiterated this position several times; further, he has also reiterated his party's support of the one-China policy. Ma has defined the status quo as the "Five No's." During a visit to the United States in March 2006, he proposed a "proactive" approach to cross-strait relations which he called the "Five Do's."
On 17 March 2008, Ma threatened to boycott the
Beijing Olympics if elected, should the
2008 unrest in Tibet
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
spiral out of control. After he was elected president, he refused to let the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
visit Taiwan, citing the timing as inappropriate. He later approved a visit by the Dalai Lama to lead prayers for
Typhoon Morakot
Typhoon Morakot, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Kiko, was the deadliest typhoon to impact Taiwan in recorded history. The eighth named storm and fourth typhoon of the 2009 Pacific typhoon season, Morakot wrought catastrophic damage in Taiwa ...
victims in August 2009.
In April 2009, President Ma became the first ROC president to pay homage in person to the
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
who is believed to have founded China as a nation more than 5,000 years ago. Accompanied by all his government leaders, the president sang the ROC's national anthem as the starter.
Ma's spokesman said the president wanted to pay his respects to the Yellow Emperor on
National Tomb-Sweeping Day in person to stress the importance of the Chinese ancestor-worshipping tradition. However, others saw the precedent-making ceremonies at the
Martyrs' Shrine
The Martyrs' Shrine, also known as Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs (french: Sanctuaire des martyrs canadiens)is a Roman Catholic church in Midland, Ontario, Canada, which is consecrated to the memory of the Canadian Martyrs, six Jesuit Martyrs an ...
as meant to be a show by President Ma of his unprofessed commitment to maintain a close relationship between Taiwan and mainland China.
View on human rights and democracy
In June 2009, the anniversary of the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
in Beijing, a leader of the
Chinese democracy movement and then student leader
Wang Dan visited Taiwan, as in previous years, to meet with Ma about human rights and democracy in China. However, Ma postponed the appointment three times and eventually cancelled the appointment with Wang. In a press meeting with DPP Chairwoman
Tsai Ing-wen, Wang Dan spoke of how it has become more difficult to see "President Ma" in comparison to "Mayor Ma of Taipei City." Wang stated that he understood the importance of the cross strait relationship to Taiwan's economy but also stated that a confident government should have nothing to be afraid of.
View on cross-strait relations
After his success in the presidential election, Ma Ying-jeou said he had no immediate plans to visit
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
and would work to fulfill his campaign pledge to improve relations with mainland China, starting direct charter flights, allowing mainland Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan and lifting the ROC's legislative restrictions on the financial sector to invest in mainland China.
Since then, Ma Ying-jeou has emphasized the "
1992 Consensus
The 1992 Consensus is a political term referring to the alleged outcome of a meeting in 1992 between the semiofficial representatives of the People's Republic of China (PRC) of mainland China and the Republic of China (ROC) of Taiwan. They are of ...
" as the existing basis for constructive dialogue and exchange between mainland China and Taiwan. On 12 April 2008, then Vice-President-elect
Vincent Siew formally met with
CCP General Secretary
The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the Party leader, head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secr ...
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...
at the
Boao Forum
The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA; ), initiated by 25 Asian countries and Australia (increased to 28 in 2006), is a non-profit organisation that hosts high-level forums for leaders from government, business and academia in Asia and other continents t ...
in
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
.
On 2 September 2008, Ma declared that the relations between Taiwan and mainland China were a "
special relationship not between two nations", but one that can be handled invoking the "1992 consensus" between the two sides. While the governing authorities on mainland China and Taiwan cannot recognise each other as a legitimate government due to legal and constitutional reasons, Ma seeks that they would refrain from denying the other side being the ''de facto'' governing authority of one area of the state. On 18 October 2008, Ma said he hoped that a cross-strait peace accord could be reached during his term in office.
Ma has received criticism from the DPP, the opposition party, for allegedly praising the PRC on human rights, especially during the
20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Protests. Departing from his usual critical view of the Communists' handling of the 1989 protests, Ma made a statement about the PRC's recent improvements in human rights. That same day, he also asked the PRC government to face its history directly and honestly.
Within a week of his remarks on Tiananmen, Ma voiced support for the acceptance of
simplified Chinese
Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to:
Mathematics
Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example
* Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...
for written text and the continued use of
traditional Chinese
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
for printed text. Ma had to clarify his remarks regarding simplified characters at a 15-minute speech before the sixth International Conference on Internet Chinese Education on 19 June 2009. Ma reiterated his policy of urging the Chinese to learn the traditional system; his previous call was for the ability of Taiwan's population to recognize simplified characters and not for simplified characters to supplant the traditional system in Taiwan. In a 2004 speech hosted by Microsoft Taiwan, he had proposed for the
traditional Chinese
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
characters (; literally: complicated characters) to be instead called the 'formal characters' () (then the translation 'traditional Chinese characters' would be more appropriate as well).
In 2009, Ma spoke at a leadership conference in Taipei and called for peace with Beijing and for Taiwan's greater participation in international affairs. He said: "The Chinese civil war of the 1940s must never happen again. Peace never comes easily, because over 1,000 missiles deployed by Beijing are still aimed at Taiwan." In 2014, Ma received the Eisenhower Medallion from
People to People International People to People International (PTPI) is a program established on September 11, 1956, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as part of the United States Information Agency. After President Eisenhower left the office of President in 1961, he arranged t ...
for his efforts in the East China Sea Peace Initiative, set up to mediate territorial disputes.
Between 18 March to 10 April 2014, the
Sunflower Student Movement, initiated by a coalition of students and civic groups in the
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...
and later also the
Executive Yuan
The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan.
...
, was a student-mainly mass
movement
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
to protest Ma's
trade in services Trade in Services refers to the sale and delivery of an intangible product, called a service, between a producer and consumer. Trade in services that takes place between a producer and consumer that are, in legal terms, based in different countrie ...
policy with mainland China.
On 26 September 2014, a student protester hurled the book
''Formosa Betrayed'' at Ma and hit the president, who was not hurt by the incident. The
Presidential Office condemned the act of violence.
Honours
*:
**
![DOM Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella ribbon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/DOM_Order_of_Merit_of_Duarte%2C_Sanchez_and_Mella_ribbon.svg)
Grand Cross with Gold Breast Star of the
Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella
*:
**
Traditional Paramount Leader Medal (2014)
*:
**
![Order of St Christopher and Nevis (Saint Kitts and Nevis)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Order_of_St_Christopher_and_Nevis_%28Saint_Kitts_and_Nevis%29.png)
Collar of the
Order of St Christopher and Nevis
The Order of St Christopher and Nevis is an Order of Merit of St. Christopher and Nevis. Instituted in 2005, it is awarded to visiting heads of state and other representatives of nations which have made substantial contributions to St Christophe ...
(2011)
See also
*
Politics of the Republic of China
*
Elections in the Republic of China
There are eleven types of elections in Taiwan which, since 2012, have been unified into general and local elections, each held every four years, typically in January and November respectively. There may also be by-elections. Electoral systems incl ...
*
Political status of Taiwan
The controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan or the Taiwan issue is a result of World War II, the second phase of the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949), and the Cold War.
The basic issue hinges on who the islands of Taiwan, Peng ...
References
External links
Ma Ying-jeou Official Website (Traditional Chinese)Corpus of Political SpeechesFree access to political speeches by Ma Ying-jeou and other Chinese politicians, developed by Hong Kong Baptist University Library
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Ying-Jeou
1950 births
Chairpersons of the Kuomintang
Chinese Civil War refugees
Former Roman Catholics
Harvard Law School alumni
Hong Kong emigrants to Taiwan
Kuomintang presidential nominees
Living people
Mayors of Taipei
National Taiwan University alumni
New York University School of Law alumni
People from Boston
People from Kowloon
Presidents of the Republic of China on Taiwan
Taiwanese Ministers of Justice