Taiwanese students arrive in Beijing for latest Ma Ying-jeou Foundation tour

The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation – set up by the former Taiwanese leader – is leading a student exchange visit to Beijing, its latest effort to improve cross-strait ties. The foundation said its executive director Hsiao Hsu-tsen and a group of around 40 university students from Taiwan arrived in the mainland Chinese capital on Monday for a five-day visit. It is the first time Hsiao has led a group on such a visit – Ma has headed three previous trips, one in 2023 and two last year. As Taiwan’s leader, Ma pursued a policy of closer engagement with mainland China, culminating in a groundbreaking meeting with President Xi Jinping in Singapore nearly a decade ago, in November 2015 – a year before Ma stepped down. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the leaders of Taiwan and mainland China. Ma and Xi met again in April last year, when Ma led a group of Taiwanese students to Beijing. Ma’s office director, Wang Kuang-tzu, is also in Beijing with the Taiwanese group, prompting speculation that a possible third meeting between Ma and Xi could be discussed during the trip. Beijing often marks anniversaries, and this year there are several to do with Taiwan – 10 years since the Ma-Xi summit, 20 years since a historic meeting between Kuomintang leader Lien Chan and Communist Party of China leader Hu Jintao, 20 years since the Anti-Secession Law was enacted, and 80 years since Taiwan’s return to China and victory in the War of Resistance against Japan. Asked about the possibility of a third Ma-Xi meeting, Hsiao said the focus of the current visit was on “cross-strait youth exchanges with no other specific plans or arrangements”. He said the foundation’s mission was to foster youth interaction between Taiwan and the mainland with an aim of improving mutual understanding and reducing tensions between the two sides. “This year is crucial for a potential turning point in cross-strait relations,” Hsiao said. He also called on Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te to “prioritise the interests of Taiwan’s people by setting aside political considerations, resuming cross-strait tourism, and facilitating civilian exchanges”. Hsiao said restoring tourism would help to revitalise the island’s struggling tourism industry and it could also ease tensions and reduce the risk of conflict across the Taiwan Strait. Beijing views self-governed Taiwan as part of China and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under mainland control. Relations soured in 2016 when Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party became the island’s leader. She rejected Ma’s engagement policy and firmly opposed the one-China principle that Beijing insists on for continued dialogue. Beijing has described Tsai’s successor, Lai, as a “separatist”, and Lai has angered Beijing by stating that Taiwan and mainland China “are not subordinate to each other”. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but oppose any unilateral change to the cross-strait status quo. The US remains committed to arming Taiwan for self-defence. Hsiao also noted that Beijing had recently announced plans to resume group travel from Shanghai and Fujian province to Taiwan. But he said Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which charts cross-strait policy, and its Tourism Administration had insisted talks must proceed through semi-official tourism organisations before travel could resume. Hsiao also took aim at the Mainland Affairs Council for blocking a visit to Taiwan by a group of Shanghai officials for the Taipei Lantern Festival. He said such actions “reveal the Lai administration’s intention to limit cross-strait exchanges”. The Taiwanese government has rejected that accusation, saying the problem stems from Beijing. During their trip this week, the Taiwanese students will spend time skiing at the Yanqing Winter Olympic Village north of Beijing and visit cultural sites including the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Great Wall. The students are representing National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University, Tunghai University, Shih Hsin University, and National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology. They will also join students from Peking University, Tsinghua University and other Beijing institutions to celebrate Lantern Festival, the foundation said.

Taiwanese students arrive in Beijing for latest Ma Ying-jeou Foundation tour

Group is on a five-day trip, led by executive director Hsiao Hsu-tsen – the latest effort to improve cross-strait relations