The world changes, but Ma remains the same

NINE YEARS AFTER their first meeting, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Wednesday last week met in Beijing, the highlight of Ma’s visit to China. Much like their first encounter in Singapore, Ma’s meeting with his “old friend” Xi was yet another disappointment.

To secure his historical legacy no matter the cost, the Ma administration in 2015 pushed for the first Ma-Xi meeting, despite public objections. Even that “shot in the arm” could not save the lost trust of Taiwanese in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and it showed how Ma — who once had a support rating of only 9.2 percent — has often been out of touch with mainstream opinion.

Even though a National Chengchi University Poll showed that the percentage of Taiwanese who identify as Chinese has fallen to a new low of 2.4 percent, Ma in his most recent visit said in front of Xi that “Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait ... belong to the same Chinese race ... and they are of Chinese descent.”

Ma also showed ignorance of the international reality. At the same time as his visit, the US expressed concern about the Chinese Communist Party’s “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan, such as in disputes near Kinmen County. The US, Japan and the Philippines met to discuss a response to Chinese expansion in the South China Sea, and the AUKUS security pact of Australia, the UK and the US said it was considering cooperation with Japan. Meanwhile, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol ordered a firm response to Chinese vessels engaged in illegal fishing.

While the world’s democratic nations recognize China’s intrusions and the threat it poses to its neighbors, and are working together on ways to counter it, Ma, despite his status as a former head of state, acted as though he lives in a parallel universe. He spoke as though Chinese expansionism and harassment do not exist. In his speech, he not only avoided calling China a “troublemaker,” but also shifted the blame for cross-strait tensions to the pro-Taiwanese independence camp.

Ma also appeared submissive to an authoritarian regime. His visit to China started at the former residence of Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), a founder of the Republic of China (ROC), before traveling to Huanghuagang, also known as the Yellow Flower Mound Park, where the Second Guangzhou Uprising against the Qing Dynasty took place in 1911. The trip ended in Beijing, where he read his script nervously in front of the world’s biggest dictator.

The first two sites concern those who sought to overturn an autocratic monarchy to found the ROC, while the latter is the seat of power of a regime threatening to annex Taiwan under one-party rule. Xi even abolished term limits to remain president for life.

The irony is too great to be ignored. Submission to authoritarianism does not necessarily bring about positive changes.

Ma’s absurd remarks such as “trusting Xi” and “Taiwan’s not a country” were rewarded with the highly anticipated second Ma-Xi meeting. The public broadcast of their summit ended when Ma was still talking about the original interpretations of the so-called “1992 consensus,” as a large number of media were “cleared out” by the Chinese officials from the venue.

“You haven’t changed,” Xi said to Ma when they met. He is right: Ma has not changed. Nine years later, Ma remains detached from mainstream public opinion, ignorant of the international reality and submissive to authoritarianism.