We are all Chinese’, former Taiwan president says while visiting China By Nicoco Chan

by

March 28, 20236:31 PM GMT+5:30Last Updated 2 days ago

‘We are all Chinese’, former Taiwan president says while visiting China
By Nicoco Chan

NANJING, China, March 28 (Reuters) – People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are ethnically Chinese and share the same ancestor, former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said on Tuesday at the start of a historic visit to China that Taiwan’s ruling party has criticised.

Ma, in office from 2008-2016, is the first former or current Taiwanese president to visit China since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 at the end of a civil war with the Communists.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue
He is visiting amid heightened tension as Beijing uses political and military means to try and pressure democratically governed Taiwan into accepting Chinese sovereignty.

article-prompt-devices
Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party has questioned why he is visiting just after China took away another Taiwanese diplomatic ally, Honduras, on Sunday, leaving the island with official diplomatic ties with only 13 countries.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue
In comments in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, where the man celebrated for overthrowing the last Chinese emperor in 1911 and ushering a republic is buried, Ma praised Sun’s contributions.

“People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese people, and are both descendants of the Yan and Yellow Emperors,” Ma said, in comments provided by his office.

Ma used wording in Chinese meaning people of Chinese ethnicity, rather than referring to their nationality. Descendants of the Yan and Yellow Emperors is an expression referring to a common ancestor for Chinese people.

[1/6] Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou gestures as he arrives at an airport in Shanghai, China March 27, 2023. Ma Ying-jeou’s Office/Handout via REUTERS

Read more

Most Taiwanese no longer identify as Chinese, according to polls.

Sun is officially still considered the father of the Republic of China, which remains Taiwan’s official name.

Sun is also lauded by the Communist Party for the overthrow of the Qing dynasty, but the governments in Beijing and Taipei do not recognise each other.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Ma’s visit is part of outreach by Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), to China in hopes of reducing tensions. The KMT traditionally favours close relations with China, but strongly denies being pro-Beijing.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly offered talks with China, but has been rejected as China considers her a separatist. She says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

Ma, a senior KMT member, said he hoped for peace.

“We sincerely hope that the two sides will work together to pursue peace, avoid war, and strive to revitalise China,” he said, again using an expression that refers to the Chinese people as an ethnicity rather than a nationality. “This is an unavoidable responsibility of Chinese people on both sides of the Strait, and we must work hard.”

Ma is not scheduled to meet with any senior Chinese leaders on this trip. He and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Singapore in 2015.

article-prompt-devices
Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

Reporting by Nicoco Chan; Writing by Ben Blanchard. Editing by Gerry Doyle

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read Next
Asia Pacificcategory
North Korea executes people for South Korean videos, drugs – report, article with gallery
1:00 PM GMT+5:30
A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva
Asia Pacificcategory
Fire on Philippine ferry kills 29, including children; 225 rescued, article with video
an hour ago
Passenger ship catches fire off Basilan
Asia Pacificcategory
Twitter blocks Pakistan govt’s account for viewing in India – notice, article with image
12:58 AM GMT+5:30
The Twitter App loads on an iPhone in this illustration photograph
Businesscategory
Ford in $4.5 bln deal for EV battery materials plant, article with image
an hour ago
Ford Motor Co’s logo pictured in 2019
refinitiv_image_mobile
Newsletter | Every weekday.
Reuters Daily Briefing
The day’s top news in your inbox. We cover the world, from front lines to boardrooms. (This includes the Reuters Weekend Briefing.)

More from Reuters

World
China seeks to woo foreign firms as tensions with West swirl, article with image
Chinacategory · March 30, 2023 · 4:46 PM GMT+5:30 · 7 min ago
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday that he was committed to opening up and reforming the world’s second-largest economy, seeking to win over foreign investors even as trade and geopolitical tensions with the West loom large.

Americascategory
Exclusive: Canada’s ATCO gives Mexico troubled pipeline after damage award -sources, article with image
1:38 PM GMT+5:30
Europecategory
Fugitive Russian father convicted of insulting army detained in Belarus, article with image
3:35 PM GMT+5:30
Europecategory
Vatican repudiates colonial-era ‘doctrine of discovery’, article with gallery
an hour ago
Worldcategory
China says Australia-Britain-US nuclear submarine cooperation may spark arms race, article with image
1:57 PM GMT+5:30

Site Index
Latest
Home
Media
Videos
, opens new tab
Pictures
, opens new tab
Graphics
, opens new tab
Browse
World
Business
Legal
Markets
Breakingviews
Technology
Investigations
, opens new tab
Lifestyle
About Reuters
About Reuters
, opens new tab
Careers
, opens new tab
Reuters News Agency
, opens new tab
Brand Attribution Guidelines
, opens new tab
Reuters Leadership
, opens new tab
Reuters Fact Check
, opens new tab
Reuters Diversity Report
, opens new tab
Stay Informed
Download the App
, opens new tab
Newsletters
, opens new tab
Information you can trust
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world’s media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Follow Us

Thomson Reuters Products
Westlaw, opens new tab
Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology.

Onesource, opens new tab
The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs.

Checkpoint, opens new tab
The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals.

Refinitiv Products
Refinitiv Workspace, opens new tab
Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile.

Refinitiv Data Catalogue, opens new tab
Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts.

Refinitiv World-Check, opens new tab
Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks.

Advertise With Us
, opens new tab
Advertising Guidelines
, opens new tab
Cookies
, opens new tab
Terms of Use
, opens new tab
Privacy
, opens new tab
Digital Accessibility
, opens new tab
Corrections
, opens new tab
Site Feedback
, opens new tab
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.

© 2023 Reuters. All rights reserved

No tags 0 Comments 0

No Comments Yet.