Ex-president Ma Ying-jeou accused by former aide of being indifferent to stopping Taiwan-centric culture taking root on island
- Book by former security chief Su Chi says Ma had ignored advice to correct ‘misconceptions’ about mainland China
- Su also said Ma had let himself get tied up by ‘petty matters’ and failed to look at the ‘big picture’
The criticisms of Ma were made in a book by Su Chi, his former head of the National Security Council, who complained that he appeared “indifferent” to correcting “misconceptions” about relations with mainland China.
He was referring to changes to the high school curriculum to downplay links to the mainland made under Ma’s predecessor Chen Shui-bian, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, in 2004.
“Many offered constructive advice to Ma when he ran for president [in 2008], but after he took office, it seemed he was busy with his administration and stopped short of correcting the misconceptions of the previous years … Many people asked him to reset the guideline changes, but he appeared indifferent,” Su wrote.
Su also said that despite his gentlemanly image, Ma’s “reluctance to take note of his fundamental support base” had caused “grumbles from people on his side”.
Su said such an attitude explained why “de jure independence” took root in Taiwan.