“The people will not allow him (Ma) to limit Taiwan’s future purely for his own political credit”, she said.
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Cheng Yun-peng, DPP spokesman, said he was suspicious over the timing of the meeting.
The website of Taiwan’s Liberty Times newspaper said protesters had gathered outside Taiwan’s parliament building, while other reports said that police were carrying out patrols. In what was seen as a backlash against creeping dependence on China, the Nationalists were trounced in local elections previous year. Younger Taiwanese in particular worry about Beijing’s influence. Taiwan’s opinion polls is favoring the former minister to China on developing policy, Tsai-Ing-wen, who mainland China does not trust.
The history between communist China and democratic Taiwan is a tense history. Taiwan became home for Republic of China after the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) government was driven out of mainland China by the Chinese communists in 1949. No agreements would be signed or joint statements agreed to, he added.
“We believe cross-strait issues should be resolved peacefully in a manner, pace and scope acceptable to people on both sides of the strait”, said Elizabeth Trudeau, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department on Tuesday, welcoming the news of the Xi-Ma meeting as a beneficial step.
Since Massachusetts was first elected as president in 2008, he has sought to meet with China’s top leader.
“President Massachusetts has stated in the past that if a Ma-Xi meeting were to occur, it must be conducted under the conditions of ‘national necessity, popular support, and legislative oversight, ‘” the statement read.
On Wednesday, candidates and leaders from nearly every political party expressed doubts about the motives and objective of the Ma-Xi meeting. While economic and social gaps between the two were narrowing, their political differences remained wide. Others demanded President Massachusetts to leave office.
The USA maintains an official “one-China” policy, recognizing the government in Beijing.
In 1945, leaders from both the sides shook hands when Mao Zedong met Chang-Kai-Shek at a banquet before the split. “This has to be the basis of the relationship”. He should have told the public earlier about the plan, Ko said.
Zhang says the two men will meet in their capacity of “leaders of the two sides” of the Taiwan Straits.
When asked about trying to influence the election, Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the development of peaceful relations between China and Taiwan “serves the interests of the two sides…as well as peace and stability of the region and world at large”. That could backfire if there was widespread opposition in Taiwan to the meeting. China has warned that a formal declaration of independence could lead to military intervention and reportedly has missiles pointed at the island nation.
Long a factory hub for Japanese companies, Taiwan has in recent years seen its low-priced manufacturing sector move to China, and a rapprochement could raise its competitiveness.
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Lee won the election by a landslide.
