Taiwan's former leader Ma Ying-jeou calls for ‘peaceful and democratic' unification
Former Taiwanese leader
Ma Ying-jeou proposed that unification between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should be achieved peacefully and democratically – rejecting the use or threat of force – in a rare unscripted moment during a speech on the mainland on Thursday.
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It marked the first time Ma, also the former chairman of the mainland-friendly Kuomintang (KMT), has explicitly expressed his views on unification during his four visits to mainland China. His current trip started on June 14 and ends on Friday.
'My position is that the two sides of the strait should pursue peaceful and democratic unification,' said Ma, who served as Taiwan's leader from 2008 to 2016. He made the remarks at a Chinese cultural event in
Dunhuang , a city in Gansu province, according to Taiwan's United Daily News on Thursday.
He went on to clarify that unification should not be achieved through 'the use or threat of force' and must 'respect the will of the people of Taiwan', according to the report.
The comments – delivered off-script during a carefully arranged visit – were addressed to roughly 180 attendees, which included
Song Tao , head of the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office.
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In response to Ma's surprise comment, Song said in his remarks following Ma's speech that 'the future and destiny of Taiwan should be jointly decided by all Chinese people on both sides of the strait', according to a separate report by United Daily News.
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