President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was given a warm welcome by overseas Taiwanese in Los Angeles on Tuesday, when he made a transit stop on his return home from an eight-day, three-nation diplomatic tour.
Accompanied by Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) and American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt, Ma visited the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in Los Angeles, a union of ethnic Chinese and Taiwanese living in the US.
The association presented Ma with a mounted document dating back to when Washington broke off ties with Taipei, which states that the association’s Los Angeles chapter would continue to support the Republic of China (ROC) government in Taiwan, according to a counselor with the group.
However, the warm welcome was somewhat dampened at the end of Ma’s visit by a man who loudly called for the president to step down.
The man was immediately silenced and escorted away by security guards, all the while claiming that Ma has “hurt the Taiwanese people too much” and many are unhappy with his administration.
Speaking at the event, Ma said that cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is conducive to peace.
It is in the best interests of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to push for the peaceful development of Taiwan-China ties under the ROC Constitution and the (so-called) “1992 consensus” — an agreement that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) believes refers to the two sides of the Strait, both being part of “one China,” though each side is free to interpret the meaning of the term.
Taiwan and China should leave behind their non-peaceful methods of the past in favor of cooperation and mutual help, Ma added.
Earlier in the day, Ma visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in nearby Simi Valley, where he toured a special exhibit of gifts from Taiwan to the former US president.
Duke Blackwood, director of the library, said the exhibit was organized to receive Ma. Blackwood said he gave Ma a cowboy hat as a gift to welcome the upcoming Year of the Horse on the lunar calendar.
During his tour of the library, Ma cited Regan’s famous quote that the progress in democracy will lead to the downfall of communism.
Ma also met with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and business representatives at a luncheon.
Ma and his entourage are to return home today.
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