Word: ma
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...less than three months Ma Ying-jeou has been Taiwan's president, relations between Taiwan and China have arguably seen the most rapid advancement in the six-decade standoff between the two governments. Ma launched direct weekend charter flights between China and Taiwan for the first time, opened Taiwan to mainland tourists, eased restrictions on Taiwan investment on the mainland and approved measures that will allow mainland investors to buy Taiwan stocks. Yet the road towards his ultimate goal - peaceful relations with Beijing - is still fraught with political challenges. Ahead of his first international diplomatic trip, Taiwan President Ma Ying...
...Ma has promised to stop the "checkbook diplomacy" that previous leaders have practiced for decades. Indeed, Taiwan's long-standing practice of wooing small, often poor, international allies with economic aid has occasionally proven embarrassing. In May, a scandal erupted when middlemen commissioned by Taipei to help seduce Papua New Guinea away from Beijing were accused of absconding with $30 million of government funds. Even if, as analysts expect, Taiwan doesn't offer Paraguay the full $71 million, by going, Ma risks being seen as continuing the practice of bribing impoverished nations in Latin America and Africa for their support...
...with Taiwan for allies. "Their attitude is: 'We have 172 countries recognizing us. Taiwan has 23. If we gain one or two more, it doesn't make too much difference to us, but it would cause a huge negative impact on the ruling administration in Taiwan.'" Aside from undercutting Ma's overtures toward détente, heavy-handed international maneuvering by Beijing could backfire by emboldening Taiwan's pro-independence faction. Lin says that in order to forestall that outcome, think tanks affiliated with China's government have come to Taiwan to discuss how to handle requests by Taiwan...
...Ma also has hearts and minds to win. Only months after scoring the biggest electoral rout in Taiwan's history, Ma's approval rating has dropped to around 35 percent, both because of Taiwan's sluggardly economy and because of a leadership style that some see as too subdued for the island's raucous political arena. "The issue is his personality," says Yang Tai-shun, a political science professor at Taipei's Chinese Cultural University. "He's cautious and tries not to say more than he can promise. He puts too much stake on cross-Strait relations...
...MA: We have made quite a few accomplishments in our relations with the mainland, the United States and Japan in the last two and a half months. [After] many, many years, now the U.S., Japan and Southeast Asia can rest assured that hostilities or even confrontation is unlikely in the Taiwan Strait. This is the reason why when I will transit in the U.S. I don't want to do things not compatible with the purpose of transit. Why? There is no need for me to do that. I don't have to do things that will hurt the high...