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'Conditions Aren't Ripe'; Ma Ying-jeou, head of Taiwan's pro-mainland KMT, says Beijing is not pushing unification anymore.(Interview)
Byline: Jonathan Adams
The next presidential election in Taiwan is more than two years away, but there's already a front runner. Ma Ying-jeou, the 55-year-old mayor of Taipei, is seen as a shoo-in to be the candidate for the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), which favors closer ties with China and eventual unification. Admired for his clean image and movie-star good looks, Ma led his party in trouncing the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in local elections earlier this month, making him the man to beat in 2008. The mayor and KMT chairman spoke to NEWSWEEK's Jonathan Adams about what his party would do to nudge Taiwan closer to China, and why conditions aren't yet "ripe" for unification. Excerpts:
ADAMS: The DPP lost a lot of ground to your party in the recent elections. Are you pleased?
MA: We did well, but not because the KMT has really improved itself. Rather, the DPP has become so corrupt, and so inept, that people have lost confidence in them.
Under your leadership, the KMT seems well positioned to reclaim the presidency in 2008. How would your party change Taiwan's relations with China?
The DPP is somewhat handicapped by their ideology. They have to keep a distance from mainland China. They have been very timid, very conservative and very reserved in pushing ahead a productive policy toward the Chinese mainland. If the KMT is able to get back in power, we will open up direct flights with the mainland in two years. That's critical to Taiwan's economy.
Why is it so critical?
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Source: HighBeam Research, 'Conditions Aren't Ripe'; Ma Ying-jeou, head of Taiwan's pro-mainland...