Ma Ying-jeou positioning himself ‘as broker of cross-strait ties’
Taiwan’s former president is working hard to shore up his political legacy, observers say – complicating Tsai Ing-wen’s dealings with the mainland
Taiwan’s former president Ma Ying-jeou is continuing to pursue his own agenda in cross-strait relations in what may be a bid to succeed ex-Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan in brokering ties, analysts say.
His recent plan to visit Hong Kong showed that hoped his cross-strait legacy would not be undermined by his successor, Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, they said.
Earlier this month, Ma sought permission to visit Hong Kong on Wednesday to speak on cross-strait relations and his historic meeting President Xi Jinping in Singapore in November.
His request to travel abroad – which is required by Taiwanese law of former presidents within a certain period of their leaving offices – was rejected by the Presidential Office due to concerns that Ma only left office within a month, especially as Hong Kong had no security cooperation with the island.
While there was heated debate in Taiwan over whether the rejection had deeper political motivations by the DPP administration, some local media said the major concern of the Tsai government was that Ma’s Hong Kong speech would complicate Tsai’s cross-strait policy and her dealings with the mainland.