President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he sees Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as a leader who is able to make quick decisions.
Asked about his impressions of the Chinese leader after their meeting and dinner in Singapore on Saturday, Ma told reporters on a flight back to Taiwan that “apparently neither of us is a good drinker.”
The two leaders and half a dozen officials from either side had a closed-door meeting, followed by a dinner in which liquor — kaoliang from Taiwan and maotai from China — as well as rice wine from Matsu were served.
Sitting next to each other at a round table, he and Xi talked about alcoholic drinks, Chinese zodiac signs and special produce from various regions, among other topics, Ma said.
Prior to their meeting, Ma said had learned about Xi only by reading.
Having finally met him, Ma said he found Xi capable of making decisions quickly on some issues, such as the possibility of allowing more Chinese students to come to Taiwan.
During their summit, Ma said he mentioned the hope of many Taiwanese universities that China would allow students to pursue university degrees in Taiwan.
It is difficult to gain a place to study at universities in China, while there are about 20,000 vacant places per year in Taiwan, Ma told Xi.
On hearing this, Xi instructed China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) to deal with the issue, “just like that,” Ma said.
Regarding a bilateral trade-in-goods agreement and the proposed exchange of representative offices, Xi said China would work on those issues as soon as possible, Ma told reporters.
Ma is due to step down in May next year and is likely to be replaced by the Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who has said that she would work to maintain the cross-strait “status quo,” although she does not recognize much of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) “understandings” on cross-strait relations.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
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Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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