Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday began a 12-day tour of China with a visit to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing.
He paid tribute to Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), a founder of the Republic of China, giving a short speech and then bowing in front of the memorial.
“The people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the Chinese nation, are children of Yandi (炎帝) and Huangdi (黃帝),” he told reporters who had been allowed to follow him on the trip, referring to figures said to have founded of the Han ethnicity in ancient China.
Photo: AP
Ma has framed the trip as an effort to lower tensions between Taipei and Beijing by promoting exchanges, bringing Taiwanese college students with him on the visit.
“We sincerely hope that the two sides will work together to pursue peace, avoid war and strive to revitalize China. This is an unavoidable responsibility of Chinese people on both sides of the Strait, and we must work hard,” he said, using an expression that refers to Chinese people as an ethnicity rather than a nationality.
Ma praised Sun, who advocated for a “modern Chinese nation” and the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty.
Photo: Ma Ying-jeou’s Office via AP
Outside the mausoleum, a crowd gathered to see if they could catch a glimpse of the former president.
Most of the regular tourists expecting to be able to see the mausoleum and the surrounding park found themselves blocked from entering, although a few who had reserved in advance were allowed to enter the site.
“Even though there are some difficulties on the official front, as long as there are benefits to the public and you can build a good foundation, then this will be good for the unification of both sides,” said Chen Shaoan, who was at the mausoleum to see Ma.
Ma also visited the China Modern History Museum, which is the site of the old Presidential Palace in Nanjing.
Ma arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport earlier in the morning, where he was greeted by Chen Yuanfeng (陳元豐), deputy minister on China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhong Xiaomin (鍾曉敏), head of the Shanghai City Government’s Taiwan Affairs Office, and Chinese Communist Party Shanghai Standing Committee member Zhang Wei (張為).
Additional reporting by CNA
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,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS