Ma Ying-jeou

Ma Ying-jeou Facts and Information

Important Points

• Ma Ying-Jeou is the President of Taiwan, a close ally and trading partner of the US
• Ma has greatly improved relations with China, the first leader of Taiwan to do so since 1949
• That being said, Ma has not given in to all Chinese demands wholesale, and still is an ardent nationalist
• That being said, Ma is an advocate of a strong Taiwan; he is just not an advocate of full independence
• Ma has been mostly focusing on rallying the Taiwanese economy, of which opening relations with China plays a big part

The Rundown

Ni hao ma? Ma? Oh yes, on the other side of the ocean from China is the small island of Taiwan and the main man there is Ma, Ma Ying-Jeou. Even though Taiwan pales in comparison to almost everything China, rest assured that Ma is making Taiwan as relevant as possible with a new found respect that he hopes the International community will recognize. How is Ma going to do that? Good question.

President Ma Ying-Jeou has been a major player in the Taiwanese Nationalist Party since the early 1990s. Under the first directly elected president Lee Teng-Hui, Ma was his Justice Minister (1993-1996). From there, he went on to defeat former President (and current world’s number one bastard) Chen Shui-Bian for Taipei City Mayor in 1998. He did such a kick ass job that he was re-elected for a 2nd term (with 64% of the city’s votes, no one’s complaining am I right?). In 2005, Ma ran for the Nationalist Party’s chairmanship and won with 72% of the votes. This guy only knows landslide victories. In 2008, he announced his bid to run for president. Due to the allegations concerning then president Chen’s family of misappropriating millions of dollars in government funds coupled with the declining World Economy, Ma secured the Taiwanese Presidency with 58% of the country’s votes, another landslide victory.

To help everyone understand more about Ma, one can refer to his predecessor Chen Shui Bian and his eight years as president. Chen emphasized a grassroots campaign, to remind everyone that Taiwan and everything about it is sacred. On the international front, Chen was all over the place, from pissing off the Chinese with constant “Taiwanese Independence” talks to infuriating the United States to the point where military sales were actually decreased…because the US for decades has supplied the island with armaments, and it has been largely thought that the US would come ‘save’ Taiwan if the Chinese were to ever attack it.  While pissing off everyone who was anyone, Chen felt it necessary to throw cash to the 20 some countries (a rapidly shrinking number, BTW) recognizing Taiwan and waged a diplomacy battle with China, which yielded very little.

(Side note: former President Chen Shui Bian and his wife are currently rotting in jail after being convicting of multiple massive fraud, corruption, and abuse of power charges during their time in politics. Ew. It appears in hindsight that Chen & Co. mostly used the Taiwan independence issue to keep international relations stirred up which distracted anyone from looking to closely at their own sordid situation.)

Since taking over the top Taiwan slot, Ma has been the main man, and he has expanded Taiwan’s international trade and focus to encompass much more than just a strong relationship with the US…namely, he has opened the Taiwan relations with motherland China more-so than any previous leader of the island. He opened up direct transportation links to China, has signed the Economic Cooperation and Framework Agreement with China, invited very high profile Chinese leaders short of the Chinese Communist Party to Taiwan, and allowed Chinese investing in Taiwan.

In short, everything that Chen did during his administration against China, Ma has reversed it. China, in the meanwhile, has eased up on Ma, allowing him multiple transit stops traveling around the world (something which former Taiwanese presidents were refused repeatedly), granted Taiwan observer status in the World Health Organization and has increased Taiwan’s participation in the APEC meetings.

However, Ma’s white flag against the Chinese isn’t totally up just yet. During his inaugural address, Ma vowed there would be “No reunification, no independence and no war,” during his 4 years as president. Like his predecessor, Ma has continued to voice opposition to Chinese missiles pointed towards Taiwan. When asked by China to expand direct flights to Taiwan, Ma refused, citing security issues. When a $6 billion dollar arms package by the Obama Administration was pushed on Taiwan, many figured Ma would refuse or re-negotiate for a smaller package. Ma, on the contrary, accepted the package. To Taiwan’s credit, the largest free standing army in the whole world is right next door, a couple of high tech, sophisticated defensive weapons wouldn’t hurt!

So what is Ma’s deal with the China deal anyways? Wasn’t he one of the biggest China supporters in the Kuomintang? Two things. One, Ma has always been a leader of the people. He has been notorious for maintaining a balance of “sides.” The event which stands out most and signaled a change in his attitude towards China was after their highest government leader visited the island in 2009 and signed a bunch of accords and recognitions with Taiwan. Things were fine and dandy between the two nations but average Joe Taiwanese citizen was pissed off. Upon the departure of China’s leader, almost 500,000 protesters, backed by the opposition party, staged a violent protest with police. Tensions had never been higher! Ma has to contend with the opposition, their supporters and their view that Taiwan should never be a part of China. It was shortly after this event that Ma reaffirmed his “No reunification, no independence, no war” vow.

Two, natural disaster. Taiwan suffered one of the worst typhoons, or hurricane, in August 2009 in which massive damage occurred in the southern part of Taiwan due to mudslides and rainfall. Ma was reprimanded for his slow response (most notably not issuing a state of emergency until 3 days after the typhoon had past) and refusal of foreign aid. A few weeks after the typhoon, most of Ma’s Cabinet resigned to take responsibility for the disaster, a further blow to Ma’s image. It’s not that Ma doesn’t want to keep up progress with China, it’s that he has bigger fish to fry at the moment.

One thing is very clear about this cat: his composure. Even when facing his fiercest critics, Ma maintains his cool and never has broken character under pressure, something his predecessors could not do. According to his past voting records, in any election he has participated, he has managed to secure the 27-40 age women’s votes by a landslide. It doesn’t hurt that he is devastatingly handsome.

Some issues are on the line for Ma in his coming years as the Taiwanese top dog. He re-assumed the chairmanship of the Kuomintang in 2009 and has seen his party’s popularity slip at the local level. He faces a stagnant economy that has leveled off. Ma’s biggest test will be how to persuade the opposition party to accept the Economic Cooperation and Framework Agreement with China, an issue that the opposition party has vehemently opposed from day one.

Whether or not Ma’s economic policies of opening Taiwan up to China (and the World) and the territorial tightrope he walks with China will reap benefits, some things are certain.  Ma’s diplomatic efforts with China and the rest of the world has brought peace to the Pacific Rim and has eased the United States and Japan’s concerns of re-igniting a Cold War relic. This is a good start for Ma and Taiwan (and the rest of the World), and after the past 8 years, the Taiwanese people seem to be welcoming it with open arms. Or at least open and increasingly fattened wallets.

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• Nice, looks like the crazy has returned to one of the Kims @plaid_kim @plaid_unkim10 hours ago
• Stability in Cross-Strait ties is a theme that I have preached from day one- http://t.co/HYe4WncE15 hours ago
• The U.S. has been pressing us to allow more American beef imports to Taiwan. I want to stress that NO decisions have been made on this issue15 hours ago
• I ask the Taiwanese people for patience in dealing w/mainland Chinese people. I do not want this to happen here- http://t.co/4LM6LKbN2 days ago
• The new Premier of my Cabinet is a financial guru who rode the waves of the 2008 financial crisis in Taiwan. I believe he's the best choice2 days ago

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