Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday began a 12-day tour of China with a visit to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing.
He paid tribute to Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), a founder of the Republic of China, giving a short speech and then bowing in front of the memorial.
“The people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the Chinese nation, are children of Yandi (炎帝) and Huangdi (黃帝),” he told reporters who had been allowed to follow him on the trip, referring to figures said to have founded of the Han ethnicity in ancient China.
Photo: AP
Ma has framed the trip as an effort to lower tensions between Taipei and Beijing by promoting exchanges, bringing Taiwanese college students with him on the visit.
“We sincerely hope that the two sides will work together to pursue peace, avoid war and strive to revitalize China. This is an unavoidable responsibility of Chinese people on both sides of the Strait, and we must work hard,” he said, using an expression that refers to Chinese people as an ethnicity rather than a nationality.
Ma praised Sun, who advocated for a “modern Chinese nation” and the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty.
Photo: Ma Ying-jeou’s Office via AP
Outside the mausoleum, a crowd gathered to see if they could catch a glimpse of the former president.
Most of the regular tourists expecting to be able to see the mausoleum and the surrounding park found themselves blocked from entering, although a few who had reserved in advance were allowed to enter the site.
“Even though there are some difficulties on the official front, as long as there are benefits to the public and you can build a good foundation, then this will be good for the unification of both sides,” said Chen Shaoan, who was at the mausoleum to see Ma.
Ma also visited the China Modern History Museum, which is the site of the old Presidential Palace in Nanjing.
Ma arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport earlier in the morning, where he was greeted by Chen Yuanfeng (陳元豐), deputy minister on China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhong Xiaomin (鍾曉敏), head of the Shanghai City Government’s Taiwan Affairs Office, and Chinese Communist Party Shanghai Standing Committee member Zhang Wei (張為).
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost