Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) today said he aims to build a "bridge of peace," as he embarked on his second visit to China this year.
Ma is leading a group of Taiwanese students from an academy under the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation to visit the provinces of Heilongjiang and Sichuan from today to Thursday next week.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
According to the foundation, the group is to attend a variety of events, including a "cross-strait youth ice and snow sculpture festival" in Harbin and a visit to the Giant Panda Museum in Chengdu.
Speaking with reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Ma said that mutual exchanges between young people were "particularly important, especially in a time when wars are frequent worldwide and cross-strait relations are far more strained compared to when I was in office [from 2008 to 2016]."
"We are doing our utmost to promote youth exchanges across the Strait, hoping to build a bridge of peace between the two sides," Ma added.
Ma added that it was his "responsibility" as a former president to "transcend political hostility" and convey the shared desire of people on both sides for exchanges.
The trip is Ma's third to China since leaving office.
Asked about meetings with senior Chinese officials, foundation CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said that their visits have consistently followed an approach in which they defer to their hosts as guests and follow the host's arrangements.
Ma added that the nine-day trip was arranged quickly following a visit to Taiwan by a group of Chinese students and teachers concluded two weeks ago, organized at the invitation of his foundation.
The Chinese delegation was embroiled in controversy after a student referred to Taiwan's national baseball team — officially competing under the name "Chinese Taipei" — as a team from "China Taipei" while speaking to Taiwanese media, triggering protests from some students and a pro-independence group.
Meanwhile, Chilly Chen (陳峻涵), chairperson of the political group Taiwan Republic, led a group in protest at the airport, shouting slogans such as "Ma Ying-jeou must not become a traitor to Taiwan."
Chen criticized the growing exchanges between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party, saying that they have heightened cross-strait tensions and raised international concerns about whether Taiwan-China relations are ambiguously aligning with "the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) agenda."
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
RSS