Ma Ying-jeou Quotes

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

We must actively engage in regional economic integration, as Taiwan is an island with few natural resources and a relatively small economy. Taiwan had signed very few free-trade agreements in the past. How can we not be in a hurry to catch up?

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.

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

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.

The mistakes of history might be gradually forgotten, but historical truth cannot be forgotten, since forgetting history could lead to the recurrence of the same mistakes.

No ruling out the possibility of unification with China, no support for Taiwanese independence and no use of force.

They (opposition) say we are selling out Taiwan and that we lost something, but they never say what exactly we have lost.

Anyone who embraces the Republic of China with all of their heart definitely does not support the Taiwan independence movement.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Renewable energy has its limitations and the government cannot put all its eggs in the same basket. We must develop different sources of energy, otherwise an energy crisis could result in a serious national security issue.