Democracy will decide Taiwan's future, says pro-independence presidential front runner as she slams Ma Ying-jeou's meeting with Xi Jinping
Historic meeting between Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou only deepened Taiwanese people's anxiety, says opposition presidential front runner
Only the people of Taiwan can decide its future and will do so in elections in January, the island's opposition leader and presidential front runner said on Sunday, as the mainland's top newspaper warned peace was at risk if it opted for independence.
A day after President Xi Jinping and his Taiwanese counterpart Ma Ying-jeou held historic talks in Singapore, Tsai Ing-wen, leader of Taiwan's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, said the meeting had done nothing to make Taiwanese people feel safer.
"Only the majority public opinion on January 16 can decide Taiwan's future and cross-strait relations," Tsai wrote.
Read more: Full coverage of Xi-Ma summit
At the summit in neutral Singapore - the first get-together of both sides' leaders since civil war ended in 1949 - Xi told Ma they must not let proponents of Taiwan's independence split them. Ma called for mutual respect for each other's systems.
Tsai said Ma's performance had angered many people in Taiwan, and that what he did was not representative of mainstream public opinion.
"As a nation's leader, President Ma did not make his people proud or feel safe. Instead, he created more anxiety," she wrote.
The Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists, who are still in charge in Beijing. Both agree there is "one China" but agree to disagree on the interpretation.
Beijing views self-ruled and proudly democratic Taiwan as a renegade province, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and has warned that moves towards formal independence could stoke conflict.
Ma said that while he was not satisfied with Xi's response on security and military issues, at least a dialogue had now begun.
"The most important achievement is that the leaders across the Taiwan Strait finally met and were willing to discuss related issues," he said.
Read more: Xi-Ma summit sets new one-China 'status quo' test for Taiwan's next leader, analysts say
In a commentary, the Communist Party's official said the two leaders showed a desire not to let the "tragedy of history" repeat itself nor to let the fruits of peaceful development be lost. Progress over the past seven years - referring to the rule of mainland-friendly Ma - had been possible due to a joint political will to oppose Taiwan independence and accept there was "one China", the paper said.
"If this 'magic cudgel' did not exist, the boat of peace would encounter a fierce and frightening storm, or even flip over completely," it said.
While bilateral trade, investment and tourism have blossomed, there is deep suspicion on both sides and no progress has been made on any sort of political settlement.
After the summit, Ma said that both he and Xi were not a heavy drinkers.
"[Xi] said he is not good at drinking, I told him I'm not good either," Ma said.
