President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday defended his administration’s policy to foster more open cross-strait relations, insisting that deeper and stronger ties between Taipei and Beijing would not affect Taiwan’s sovereignty.
In an interview with BBC World News, Ma described China as both a risk and an opportunity, saying that Taipei’s interactions with Beijing are “inevitable” because China has grown to be the second-largest economy in the world.
“Taiwan should not isolate itself anymore. Instead, we should think about how to reasonably open up to mainland. It’s the only way we can influence mainland China and make it understand that maintaining peaceful relations with Taiwan is beneficial for the two sides,” he said.
When asked to comment about concerns regarding how the increasing number of Chinese tourists to Taiwan would affect the nation’s identity, the president said more Chinese tourists would not influence the nation’s autonomy, reiterating that his administration’s goals are to minimize the threats posed by China, while maximizing the opportunities China presented.
Improving cross-strait relations has been one of the major policies for the Ma administration since his presidency began three years ago. The government has resumed cross-strait talks and signed 15 cross-strait agreements, including the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) last year, which is aimed at facilitating economic ties with China.
Shortly after the third anniversary of his inauguration, the Ma administration also plans to open the nation to Chinese free individual travelers later this month after the number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan in groups reached an average of 4,000 a day.
While challenging the former Democratic Progressive Party government’s policies that isolated Taiwan from not only China, but other countries as well, Ma acknowledged that China remained a great threat to Taiwan as it continued to increase its military might and missiles aimed at Taiwan.
He said his government would face that threat with great caution, while pursuing peaceful and stable cross-strait relations.
Ma said that Taiwan’s security could be defended by systematizing cross-strait relations, increasing the nation’s visibility in the international community and maintaining small but capable national defense abilities.
“As the two sides of the Taiwan Strait develop peaceful relations through trade, investment, cultural and educational exchanges, any unilateral attempts to change the status quo would come with a heavy price,” he said.
Ma promised that under his leadership and in the face of both opportunities and threats from China, Taiwan would continue to pursue improved cross-strait relations while developing strategies that would allow Taiwan to maintain its security and prosperity at the same time.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
RSS