Taiwan** is imminent, Ma Ying-jeou was interviewed by DW. Ma Ying-jeou, who only visited the mainland last year, has repeatedly stressed that the Taiwan Strait has been calm and undisturbed during his eight-year tenure, and his current mentality of preparing for war may bring disaster. He also mentioned that the conditions for cross-strait reunification are peace and democracy, which should be decided by the people.
Ma Ying-jeou was interviewed by DW on the 8th, and the "Blue and White Cooperation" he witnessed finally failed. He stressed that this Taiwan is a choice of "war and peace". The following interviews have been edited and published without affecting the original meaning and context.
DW: On a more macro perspective, you and the KMT described this election as a "choice between war and peace." Can you explain?
Ma Ying-jeou: Candidate Lai Qingde has supported independence for many years, and no matter how it evolves, he will not change his position in **, so I believe Chinese mainland will be very nervous about such people. So far, he hasn't done too much of it and hasn't talked too much about his ** policy, but everyone is wary of it.
DW: Lai has made it clear that he will not pursue independence, saying that Taiwan is now an "independent sovereign state" and there is no need to do so. He said he would continue the line of the outgoing Tsai Ing-wen. Do you think he's lying?
Ma Ying-jeou: His name is lai (editor's note: the English spelling of "lai" is the same as the English lie "lie"). I think they were also afraid, worried that this kind of provocation would not be good for Taiwan, especially since I believe that he also received some suggestions from his American friends.
DW: Do you think there could be a war if *** wins this election?
Ma Ying-jeou: Not necessarily, it depends on what happens in the process and what they will say if they win the election. The people expect *** to be very careful to avoid any potential conflict, so they try not to make some provocative moves.
DW: You said that it was a "choice between war and peace", but what you just said sounded like you don't think there would be war, can you clarify your own position?
Ma Ying-jeou: As I said, one of the candidates is a lifelong supporter of **, and although he tried to use a more conciliatory term during the campaign, this image has been over there for more than 10 or 20 years, so you will be able to see what will happen if he is elected.
DW: Judging from what you said, you put the blame for the current tensions on *** and Lai Qingde, right?
Ma Ying-jeou: Yes.
DW: Isn't it China's fault?It is China that sends ** to approach Taiwan, it is China that sends fighters to fly over the center line, and now with balloons, these provocative military actions are coming from China, aren't they?
Ma Ying-jeou: Did you ever visit Taiwan when I was the leader?
DW: I didn't.
Ma Ying-jeou: So you don't know how peaceful *** was at that time. We have signed 23 agreements with Chinese mainland, more than 5 million people have crossed the strait, and I met with mainland leaders in Singapore in 2015. The Economist concluded that Chinese mainland had made the biggest concession on Taiwan's sovereignty since the '80s, so they basically believed that bilateral relations would be relatively peaceful when I was leader. We certainly had some problems with the mainland, but never to the point of military action. But *** is different, because they have the belief of ** all their lives, which is the biggest taboo for Chinese mainland, so they observe the behavior of candidates very carefully.
DW: What you're telling me here is pretty much exactly what China interprets ***. But *** will say that China has molded them as supporting**. From the point of view of ***, you are repeating Chinese propaganda.
Ma Ying-jeou: No, no, no, I think as leaders, they have to understand Chinese mainland's position and what their position ultimately leads to. From the 1950s to the present, there have been some skirmishes and even wars between the two sides of the strait, so war is not impossible. Let me repeat, war is not impossible, although it is unlikely to happen in the near future.
DW: But it shows that you do put the full blame for the current tensions on the peace and harmony between the two sides of the strait when you said you were the leader, but the threat of war arose when you took power.
Ma Ying-jeou: That's why I asked you if you ever came to Taiwan when I was the leader. If you are here, you will know that during those eight years, there was so much peace between the two sides of the strait.
DW: So it's all ***'s fault?
Ma Ying-jeou: To a large extent, yes. Because they advocate **, which is absolutely unacceptable to the mainland.