Chinese dictator Xi Jinping hosted former President of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou on Wednesday, declaring that Taiwan is not a separate entity from communist China as their peoples “share the same bloodline, culture, and history.”
Ma served as president of the nation of Taiwan between 2008 and 2016, representing the pro-communist Kuomintang party. Taiwan is a sovereign state independent of China that has never been ruled by a government headquartered in Beijing, and Ma became president through a free and fair election. Despite having been the leader of the sovereign entity, Ma has championed friendly relations with the Chinese Communist Party, which rejects the reality of Taiwanese nationhood and insists the country is a rogue province rightfully governed by Beijing.
Chinese state media, which covered Ma’s visit extensively, did not indicate that Ma objected to Xi’s repeated claims over his country. On the contrary, the state outlet Xinhua claimed that Ma said “opposing ‘Taiwan independence'” is a necessary “common political foundation” for peaceful Beijing-Taipei relations.
Ma’s visit followed the election of hardline anti-communist Vice President Lai Ching-te to the presidency of the country in January, extending the rule of his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after two terms of outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen, who succeeded Ma. The Chinese Communist Party aggressively opposed the elections of both Tsai and Lai, and state media openly threatened war against Taiwan in the aftermath of Lai’s defeat of the Kuomintang.
“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army remains on high alert at all times and will take all necessary measures to resolutely crush any form of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist plots and firmly defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman bellowed shortly before Lai’s victory.
Having failed to defeat the DPP, the Chinese government appears to be working to elevate its rival party by giving Ma a warm welcome on Wednesday. Xinhua reported that Xi emphasized to Ma and – thus, the entire nation of Taiwan – that there is no such thing as a Taiwanese national.
“People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are all Chinese, Xi said,” according to the state news vehicle. “He said that the difference in systems does not alter the reality that both sides of the Strait belong to one China, and external interference cannot hold back the historical trend of national reunification.”
Xinhua quoted Xi as dramatically proclaiming, “There are no knots that cannot be untied, no issues that cannot be discussed, and no force that can separate us.”
The dictator also demanded, from his guest and the Taiwanese generally, “resolute efforts to guard the common home of the Chinese nation, work together for the long-term well-being of the Chinese nation, foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, and achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
Xinhua offered limited coverage of Ma’s comments in the meeting, and those it did offer appeared to support Xi’s anti-Taiwan stance. Ma reportedly agreed that the Taiwanese “belong to the same Chinese nation” and all should work to “improve the well-being of compatriots on both sides,” implying that Taiwan is not a separate country from China.
Ma’s interpretation of who is a “compatriot” to the Taiwanese is highly unpopular in Taiwan, polls show. The Pew Research Center published a survey in January, shortly after Lai’s electoral win, showing that the vast majority of Taiwanese people consider themselves Taiwanese. The organization found that about 67 percent of Taiwanese consider themselves “primarily Taiwanese,” while only three percent said they would call themselves “primarily Chinese.” Those numbers skew against Beijing’s agenda even more significantly among young people. Over 80 percent of Taiwanese between the ages of 18 and 34 told Pew that they view themselves as “primarily Taiwanese.”
The South China Morning Post noted in its reporting of the meeting on Wednesday that Ma met with Xi last when he was still president, during a visit to Singapore in 2015. The meeting was unprecedented in the history of communist China and no Taiwanese president has met with Xi since.
Xinhua did not offer any specific reason for Ma’s visit to Beijing. Ma is reportedly stopping in the Chinese capital as part of a larger tour of China, accompanying Taiwanese students on a tour of the country that began on April 1.
“I can only do my best as an individual to promote cross-strait student exchanges, and help reduce enmity and build goodwill between the two sides’ people,” Ma said upon departing for China.
His departure attracted anti-communist protesters to the airport and inspired mockery in Taiwanese media.
“Former president Ma Ying-jeou announced he is to travel to China tomorrow, which is April Fool’s Day,” columnist Paul Lin wrote in the Taipei Times on March 31. “The date must have been deliberately chosen by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is clearly trying to court Ma while also fashioning him into a sock puppet.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s transcript of its regular briefing on Wednesday did not mention it, presumably because the Chinese government incorrectly claims Taiwan affairs are part of China’s domestic policy. The federal Taiwan Affairs Office anticipated the negative response to Ma’s visit in remarks on Wednesday condemning the existence of the country where Ma served as president.
Spokesperson Zhou Fenglian said the Communist Party’s leaders “fully acknowledge and appreciate” Ma’s efforts before proceeding to condemn the DPP.
“The DPP claim that they have been showing goodwill since last year, but what we see is that there has still been no formal opening for mainland residents to visit the Taiwan island, nor has the ban on Taiwan residents participating in group tours to the mainland been lifted,” Zhu noted. “Where is the so-called goodwill? We haven’t seen it.”
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