The “Xi-Ma Meeting” marks its 10th anniversary on Friday (November 7). Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou posted a message thanking CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping for his tremendous determination and courage back then, working together with him to bring about the historic meeting between the leaders of both sides of the strait, leaving behind a precious legacy for cross-strait relations.
Due to minor health issues, Ma Ying-jeou canceled his attendance at the “10th Anniversary Xi-Ma Meeting Symposium” that afternoon. His originally scheduled speech was instead posted on Facebook.
In his Facebook post, Ma Ying-jeou wrote that on this day 10 years ago (2015), he and Xi Jinping overcame numerous obstacles, met in Singapore, and shook hands for 81 seconds. That was the first meeting of leaders from both sides in the 66 years since the cross-strait division, and it built a bridge of peace between the two sides.
He emphasized, “I am very proud to say that during my eight years as president, I brought peace and stability to the cross-strait relationship.”
Ma Ying-jeou called on Lai Ching-te to immediately pull back from the brink, return to the shared political foundation of both sides, and return to the basis of the Xi-Ma Meeting ten years ago, so the two sides can avoid war.
Ma Ying-jeou believes that Lai Ching-te’s “Taiwan independence” policy has brought a high degree of instability to cross-strait relations and the entire region, which in turn has made the world situation more turbulent. He asked, “Why has the situation in the Taiwan Strait—ten years after the ‘Xi-Ma Meeting,’—gone from never being at risk of war, to now being described by The Economist as ‘the most dangerous place in the world’?”
Hopes Cheng Li-wen Can Resume KMT–CCP Dialogue
Ma Ying-jeou expressed hope that KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wen would lead the new team to continue promoting cross-strait exchanges and restore dialogue between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, so as to stabilize cross-strait relations for the Taiwan people.
He said, “If the Kuomintang can return to power in the future, we can return to the mutual trust and foundation of the Xi-Ma Meeting 10 years ago, once again bringing benefits to the people on both sides of the strait and helping to rejuvenate the Chinese nation.”
He stated that mainstream public opinion in Taiwan no longer supports ‘anti-China, protect Taiwan’ policies. People want cross-strait reconciliation and peace and hope the Taiwan government will focus on handling the basic livelihood and economic issues.