Letters | Former Taiwanese leader’s visit to mainland China is a trip for peace

Readers discuss the significance of the former Taiwanese leader’s trip to the mainland, and recent achievements of Chinese diplomacy

Taiwan

Letters

Published: 11:30am, 31 Mar 2023

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Former Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou’s visit to mainland China, which began on Monday, is a historic event. It is the first time a current or former leader of Taiwan has visited the mainland since 1949. Ma is set to visit several cities on the mainland, including Nanjing, Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing and Shanghai.

The motives behind Ma’s visit are markedly distinct from those of Taiwan’s incumbent leader, Tsai Ing-wen, whose scheduled stopovers in the United States have triggered apprehension about cross-strait tensions. There are also those who believe that Ma’s visit has helped to ease the tensions surrounding Tsai’s trip.

While mainland China welcomes initiatives that foster cross-strait relations, it unequivocally opposes actions that impede such progress. Therefore, Ma’s visit is neither expected, nor likely, to soften the mainland’s countermeasures in response to Tsai’s trip.

Yet, Ma’s efforts to bridge the cultural divide between the mainland and Taiwan are crucial, given Taiwan’s gradual drift away from the mainland in terms of culture and identity.

He is seizing the occasion of the Ching Ming Festival to visit his ancestral homeland and pay his respects to his ancestors. By visiting several cities of cultural and historical significance, he also seeks to convey a sense of the shared historical and cultural heritage of the mainland and Taiwan.

Ma Ying-jeou’s visit to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing serves as a subtle yet powerful reminder that people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same revolutionary ancestors.

Additionally, he is expected to tour sites such as Wuhan’s Memorial Hall of the Wuchang Uprising in the Revolution of 1911 and Chongqing’s Anti-Japanese War Heritage Museum, which signify the enduring, collective historical consciousness of both the mainland and Taiwan.

Given the recent spike in cross-strait tensions caused by Tsai’s visit to the US, Ma’s visit to mainland China is a considerable demonstration of his ability to uphold peace in the Taiwan Strait. It is a significant gesture to reassure the Taiwanese about the region’s stability.

Christopher Tou, Tuen Mun

A greater role for Chinese diplomacy

Chinese diplomacy has achieved much recently, amid a power reshuffle during the “two sessions”. With China’s mediation, Saudi Arabia and Iran are restoring diplomatic ties. Honduras has switched relations to China, breaking off ties with Taiwan. Also, the European Union chief and the French president are set to visit China.

Energy prices soared in Europe, against the backdrop of the Ukraine war. Europeans can’t be keen on the prospect of the war dragging on, and French President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged the significance of China’s 12-point position paper calling for a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Beijing has the leverage to lobby Moscow. Hit by Westerns sanctions, Russia’s economy has become more reliant on China. When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Russia last week, the two countries agreed to cooperate on trade, resources and infrastructure. Additionally, with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin calling each other a “dear friend”, there would have been more room for talk.

Chinese diplomacy could play a crucial role in areas where Western countries are at a loss. As Chinese diplomacy resolves more crises, China will gain more global influence and the West’s – especially the US’ – discourse power may be diminished.

On the road to peace, there are still some tough issues: what to do about the four occupied provinces in Ukraine, and whether the West will lift the sanctions against Russia if peace is reached. These are challenges China faces, as it engages globally. Let’s wait and see.

Liao Sizhe, Sha Tin