Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) left on Monday for an 11-day trip to China, where sources said he is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Monday next week.
Ma, president from 2008 to 2016, last year became the first former president to visit China.
Ma met Xi in Singapore in late 2015 for a landmark summit shortly before President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) won election.
Photo: Yao Chieh-hsiu, Taipei Times
Ma and China's government have not confirmed the meeting with Xi, which has been widely reported in local media.
Three sources familiar with Ma's trip, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the issue, told Reuters it was expected to take place in Beijing on Monday next week.
"This is a trip of peace as well as of friendship," Ma told reporters in brief remarks at the airport before flying to Shenzhen in Guangdong Province.
Ma added that he hoped to convey a message that Taiwanese love peace and hope to avoid war.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office, which calls him "Mr Ma Ying-jeou" rather than former president, would only say last week when asked about a meeting with Xi that it wished Ma a smooth trip.
Ma's office said while in Guangdong he is to visit Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD and Tencent, the world's largest video game company and operator of China's WeChat messaging platform.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS