Taiwan's Ma Sets Plan To Recast Ties to China

Washington Post ^ | 3/24/2008 | Edward Cody

[steelboy]

Ebullient after a decisive victory in Saturday's election, Ma predicted he could reach agreement with Beijing on a wide range of delicate issues because, unlike President Chen Shui-bian, he is willing to put aside the question of whether this self-ruled island should be considered an independent nation or a part of China.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Perrhaps President-elect Ma could hire the Dalai Lama as an advisor, since he’s got first-hand experience with this sort of arrangement...

[B Knotts]

There needs to be a bit of clarification here. The previous president was from a center-left party which favors Taiwanese independence. The new president is from the anti-communist, center-right KMT, which favors a “One China” policy: namely, that China is reunited under the Republic of China (the government in Taiwan).

[the invisib1e hand]

Mark Taiwan's Ma is alive?

ok, ok, it's getting late...

[Philly Nomad]

HK and Macau have been doing quite well under the ChiComs. With legislative elections. Heck HK’ers even got a Chinese appointed Chief Executive “to spend more time with his family.”

If the Taiwanese think they can make more money under ChiComs, they’ll sacrifice a little bit of democracy.

[winner3000]

(Ma, 57, said he based his confidence on three years of contacts between his Nationalist Party and China’s Communist Party, discussions that bypassed Chen’s government)

Nice history of backstabbing Ma. Isn’t that treason? I guess Pelosi Democrats are not the only ones to do this.

[Tainan]

On Taiwan Ma's previous actions are not considered 'treason.' Its called politics per normal.

Things are a bit different here politically speaking. And anyway, as there is no declared 'war' going on, it wouldn't be 'treason' even by the non-applicable USA standards. You might look a bit into the DPP background for some interesting issues. Particularly Frank Hsieh...quite an amusing charater....and then there CSB & Lu...another rather fast & loose duo...and then there's CSB's wife and SOGO...and then there's...

[Shadow44]

Please, the Kuomintang is the party of Chiang Kai-Shek, you won’t find more rabid anti-communists in Taiwan than the KMT. However, Ma and the Kuomintang aren’t idiots, and they realize that A) Taiwan isn’t culturally different than China anymore so than Hawaii is to the US, and B) Unilaterally declaring independence would mean war, and risks being absorbed by the Chicoms.

By playing the game and agreeing with “One China”, it buys them time and peace, so that in the future the reunited China will be on their terms, not the Communists.