Ma Ying-jeou Quotes

It is impossible for us to recognize (mainland China) as another nation within our (Republic of China) territory.

We know that Hong Kong, after the handover to mainland China, has been trying for universal suffrage … We know that mainland China has made promises and we're of course pleased to see Hong Kong changing in this direction.

Since 1949, China has been temporarily divided, and each side of the Taiwan Strait is administered by a separate political entity. This is an objective reality.

Providing compensation (to the victims of White Terror) will not write off the incidents once and for all.

In 1992, the two sides (Taiwan and Mainland China) reached a consensus that each side would verbally express their adherence to the one China principle.

Both the 228 Incident (White Terror in Taiwan) and the June 4 Incident (Tiananmen Square Incident in Beijing) are like mirrors, reminding the leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to engage in soul-searching and learn lessons.

The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are all Chinese by ethnicity. Cross-strait relations are not international relations. Each side acknowledges the existence of "one China", but maintains its own interpretation based on the 1992 Consensus.

Our relationship with mainland China is very subtle. We don’t have a state-to-state relationship and we do not view mainland China as a foreign state.

President Tsai will end up with a legacy of broken diplomatic relations if she keeps implementing wrongheaded policies like condemning (mainland) China without ever reflecting upon herself.

We have no reason to be pessimistic about the (cross-strait service trade) agreement or to be afraid of its impact. The government will try its best to minimize possible damage and maximize the business opportunities the agreement can create.

Pragmatically speaking, there exists no possibility of Taiwan independence. The only option (for Taiwan) is whether to reunify (with Mainland China) or not.

The military should learn a lesson from the incident and correct its mistakes immediately after a review of its system. We must restore the people’s faith in the military.

There will be no national flags or other kinds of flags designed to specify cross-strait relations inside or outside the offices because we are not foreign nations to each other.

Traditional Chinese characters carry both cultural significance and artistic values and promoting these characters has nothing to do with any political stance. It's very important for us not to sacrifice the characters for tourism.

The timing and conditions are ripe for the two sides to set up representative offices (ARATS in Taiwan and SEF in Mainland China). There are no political implications to the plan and the functions of the offices will be basically neutral.