Given this context, it is unexpected that Ma Ying-jeou, the former president of Taiwan, has decided to travel to China for 12 days beginning on March 27. In the past seven decades, no Taiwanese leader has made a trip to China.
Source: ReutersMa is a member of the Kuomintang (KMT), a pro-reunification political party, whilst Tsai is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), a pro-independence party. So, it should come as no surprise that under Ma, relations between the two sides significantly improved.
Even before Xi and Ma met in Singapore in 2015, China and Taiwan had signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in 2010.Xi has been outspoken about the eventual reunification and bold about the use of force since after Tsai was elected president in 2016. Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022 exacerbated the already strained relations. Taiwan has also lost 13 diplomatic allies in the last ten years. The most recent is Honduras, which voted to alter its diplomatic allegiance to China earlier this month.
Beijing has been limiting Taiwan’s diplomatic options by utilising its economic clout. Most of the smaller countries that recognise Taiwan have changed their diplomatic stances in response to Beijing’s assurances of investments and other forms of financial support.
Source: DW NewsSince Taiwan started holding democratic elections in 1996, China has continuously attempted to sway the results. Taiwanese citizens chose to keep Tsai in office in 2020 despite China’s military display in the run-up to the vote, something Beijing neither expected nor desired. Ma’s visit might be a wise diplomatic gambit for Beijing to demonstrate to the people of Taiwan that it is eager to engage in dialogue.
Under Tsai, the movement for independence and the consolidation of democratic processes have gained momentum, while the new policies put in place by Xi in Hong Kong have made the concept of One nation, two systems less viable for the people of Taiwan.
What do you think about this? Comment below.
