靚妹 2008-5-21 06:12 PM
Ma takes office with pledge
[b]Ma takes office with pledge
[/b][i]Wednesday, May 21, 2008[/i]
[table=250][tr][td][img]http://hk-imail.singtao.com/newsimage/20080521/5_2008052021474490920ma1.jpg[/img]
[size=1][/size][/td][/tr][/table]Ma Ying-jeou took office as Taiwan president yesterday with an historic offer to reopen dialogue with Beijing, but pledged to maintain the island's self- rule and separate international profile. The inauguration of Ma, 57, puts the Kuomintang back in power after the Democratic Progressive Party's Chen Shui-bian ended five decades of unbroken KMT rule in 2000. "Normalization of economic and cultural relations is the first step to a win-win solution," Ma told a packed arena. "Taiwan and China in 1992 reached a guideline for bilateral talks - that each side can interpret the term `one China' in its own way. I hope we can resume dialogue as soon as possible on the 1992 consensus." But Ma pledged neither to seek independence nor unify with the mainland. "Taiwan doesn't just want security and prosperity," he said. "It wants dignity. Only when Taiwan is no longer being isolated internationally can cross- strait relations move forward with confidence." Ma said he would strengthen ties with Taiwan's major ally, the United States. "Ma has a mandate to improve relations with China," said Alexander Huang, a Tamkang University lecturer. "He's going to use that mandate to change course from over the past eight years." Analysts warn Ma's ambitious promises could fall through in the face of tough Beijing negotiators. Ma has pledged to launch direct weekend flights by July, admit up to 3,000 mainland tourists daily, make the Taiwan dollar convertible with yuan, let mainlan [table=250][tr][td][img]http://hk-imail.singtao.com/newsimage/20080521/6_2008052021474490920ma2.jpg[/img][/td][/tr][/table]ders buy property and push for a common market. His political rivals gave Ma notice there would be no honeymoon with a 250-strong protest in Taipei. AGENCIES Chen faces charges: Page 13 He wanted to drive a train: Page 17
