What's Ma Ying-jeou Up To?

Former Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou working in a bookshop for a day

Does former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou have a new gig?

In a recent video the 68-year-old is seen working as a shopkeeper in a bookstore in Taipei. As he's wearing a baseball cap and a black mask, most people don't recognize him at all. When customers approach him at the cashier, he suggests that they buy his memoir that was released in December.



Many say no -- in one case a woman said she hardly reads books anymore. But when he pulls down his mask, people do a double take and are excited to see him. He offers to sign the books for them too.

However he's not quite cut out to be a cashier. One customer asked to use JKo Pay, the local version of Apple Pay, and Ma seems to have no clue what it is or how to process the payment.

He tried to persuade customers to buy his memoir

The video has been seen over 150,000 times since Ma's office posted it on YouTube on Friday. His office explained the video is meant to show another side of the Harvard Law School graduate.

"We want to let the public know that the ex-president is actually an easy-going person, the man next door type," an official from the office said.

But when asked about whether this was an attempt to garner popularity again in the hopes of running for president in 2020, the office was coy.

"This kind of question has been around for some time, you'll have to ask the former president because we have no idea at all," the official said.

He made enough to buy ink and brushes to write couplets

It seems his popularity has risen in the past year or so, in contrast to when he was president, especially in the last few years of his second term which ended in 2016.

When Ma was first elected in 2008, his popularity approval rating was at 68 percent. But his government's mishandling of the economy and issues like the typhoon that killed almost 700 people in 2009, as well as the Sunflower movement -- where hundreds of students stormed the legislature in 2014 -- made him highly unpopular.

And in case you're wondering -- in the end Ma managed to sell 30 copies of his book, enough to buy Chinese calligraphy brushes and ink to write Lunar New Year couplets for his supporters.

Ma Ying-jeou's Not Coming to HK

Ma Ying-jeou will give his speech to Hong Kong via video link on Wednesday

There was a bit of buzz about former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou coming to Hong Kong for the upcoming Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) as the keynote speaker on Wednesday. He was going to talk about cross-strait relations during his time as president.

Ma's staff were at pains to stress the visit would only be for a day, he would only attend this awards event, and that he wouldn't even visit his daughter who lives here with her husband.

However, Ma's request to travel was at the mercy of the new Tsai administration. According to Taiwan's Classified National Security Information Protection Act passed in 2003, former government officials with access to classified information are subject to travel restrictions for three years after leaving office.

And in this case, the Taiwanese government forbade Ma from coming to Hong Kong.

The annual SOPA awards recognize excellence in journalism

The government cited many reasons, including that he only recently left office on May 20, the request was made at short notice, the "sensitivity" of Hong Kong, and the lack of security cooperation in the city.

If Ma's trip had been approved, he would have been the first former leader of Taiwan to visit Hong Kong since 1949.

His office voiced regret at the decision, saying that it not only showed disrespect to the former leader, but also damages Taiwan's democratic image in the world.

The official opposition criticized the Tsai administration for showing "a lack of confidence and goodwill".

As Ma had planned to talk about the touchy subject of cross-strait relations, perhaps it's not surprising Tsai may have been concerned that others may misconstrue his ideas as those of the new president's platform.

Or perhaps she didn't want to give him a stage on which to present his ideas, particularly on rejuvenating the 1992 consensus, where both sides agreed on "one China", but they were each open to their own interpretation of what "China" was.

In any event, the law making visits by former government officials subject to travel restrictions is very interesting, and also reveals how Taiwan is concerned about how it is perceived outside.

So instead SOPA will have to accept that Ma will still give his speech via video link, upsetting his many fans in Hong Kong who had hoped to meet him in the flesh.

Taiwan's New Chapter

Tsai Ing-wen is Taiwan's first female president who was inagurated today

Today is a historic day with the inauguration of Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's first female president.

She wore a straight-forward white jacket and black slacks, which reflected her speech that aimed to get Taiwan back on track and become less reliant on the mainland, much to the ire of Beijing.

Tsai campaigned on this platform which won her and the Democratic Progressive Party a decisive victory, and so she was keen to continue on this theme. She said Taiwan would pursue a new economic model of sustainable development based on the core values of innovation, employment and equitable distribution.

She also stressed the importance to building ties regionally and globally.

Former president Ma Ying-jeou looking sombre with Tsai

However what everyone was listening for was how Tsai would deal with relations with Beijing.

While she acknowledged discussion between the two sides, she stopped short of endorsing the so-called 1992 consensus, where at the time, China and Taiwan agreed they were part of "one China", with each side having its own interpretation of what that meant.

Agreed upon by the previous Kuomintang government, it was the basis on which the two sides began having warming relations, resulting in the start of direct flights, more tourism and investment.

However in the last few years, many Taiwanese felt that former President Ma Ying-jeou sold out and they were fed up with being overwhelmed with mainland tourists, a similar refrain with Hong Kong.

As a result, the Taiwanese wanted someone who would take a stand against the mainland and Tsai was the chosen one.

Nevertheless, the point of contention is that Tsai doesn't endorse the so-called 1992 consensus, instead recognizes it as a "historic fact", which annoyed Beijing immensely.

Paraphernalia featuring Tsai's face on inauguration day

"The two governing parties across the strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue, for the benefit of the people on both sides," she said.

This led to Beijing issuing a statement via Xinhua, saying Tsai did not go far enough in acknowledging the so-called 1992 consensus, calling her remarks "an incomplete examination paper", as if she were a petulant student.

Since her election, Beijing has taken a more aggressive stance on Tsai and her administration, and renew challenges to the island's recognition by 22 states including the Vatican.

Tsai seems ready to deal with Beijing's combative style with her own way of doing things. The former law professor and trade negotiator knows exactly what she's up against and it remains to be seen how deftly she deals with the hisses and criticisms across the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan has Spoken!

Tsai Ing-wen will help Taiwan become a more a more independent state

Taiwan has gone one better than the United States by electing its first female president.

Tsai Ing-wen, opposition leader of the Democratic Progressive Party won a landslide victory against the incumbent Kuomintang, with a clear indication that Taiwanese are tired of President Ma Ying-jeou kowtowing to Beijing and want a more independent island state.

In her victory speech tonight, Tsai said the election outcome clearly indicated how ingrained democracy had become in Taiwan, adding: "The people of Taiwan have elected a government that will defend Taiwan's sovereignty."

The election was contentious, but the DPP won decisively

She also warned China that "suppression" would harm cross-strait ties. "Our democratic system, national identity and international space must be respected. Any forms of suppression will harm the stability of cross-strait relations," she said.

The ball is now in Beijing's corner and it will be interesting to see how it reacts to this definitive election result.

One wonders if this is seen as a slap in the face to the mainland after the historic meeting between the two leaders, Xi Jinping and Ma in November in Singapore.

With Tsai in charge, it looks like Beijing will have to cool things for a while and perhaps secretly hope she self destructs... or will the mainland engineer a political hot potato that will destroy her political career?

She comes from an academic background, which is apparently why she appealed to a lot of young voters, and perhaps the Sunflower movement -- made up of students -- had something to do with sweeping Tsai to power.

How will China react to the Kuomintang loss?

While the political pundits crunch the numbers to see how voters voted, it will be fascinating to watch this new dynamic with Tsai's presidency. Will she be strong enough to stand up to Xi and his growing influence regionally and globally? How will the male-dominated Zhongnanhai deal with a leader who is a woman?

We're excited to watch from the sidelines...

First Historic Step

Ma Ying-jeou and Xi Jinping give each other firm handshakes today

The highly anticipated meeting in Singapore between Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese President Xi Jinping has come and gone.

What came out of it? The media scrutinized every single aspect of the event, from the 80-second handshake between the two leaders and that at the dinner table, their name cards were written in simplified Chinese for Xi, traditional for Ma.

How diplomatic.

The actual meeting lasted about an hour, though they had dinner for about another hour after two separate press conferences.

It was also noted that during the photo call just before the meeting, Ma's speech was censored by the mainland's CCTV. Was it when he said, "Both sides should respect each other's values and way of life"?

The two leaders talked in a closed door session, touching on issues such as Xi's "One Belt, One Road" campaign, threats to cross-straits relations (for China it's Taiwan's independence streak, and for Taiwan it's China's missiles aimed at the island), and the possibility of setting up a cross-strait hotline to clear up misunderstandings economic integration.

How much can you discuss in an hour anyway?

It was a good start, though we're guessing not too much was accomplished because both sides still have their fundamental differences.

Still, makes great fodder for political pundits who are curious to see how this meeting unfolded.

It's doubtful this event will help Ma politically, because for the most part, people in Taiwan don't want to be closer to the mainland. Taiwanese people want to retain their independence, their ability to vote, and their way of life.

They are already disturbed by how mainlanders behave when visiting the island state and the thought of further economic integration worries them.

For Xi, this was an excellent political opportunity to reach out to the "renegade province" and quietly reel it closer to the mainland.

At least that's the plan...

Saturday Singapore Watching

All eyes will be on Singapore when the two Chinese leaders meet here

There was a lot of buzz last night Hong Kong time when it was announced that an historic meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou -- the first of its kind since 1949 -- would take place this Saturday in Singapore.

The Taiwanese side claims they were the ones to initiate the meeting, and clarified that the United States was not involved at all.

Xi and Ma's meeting will be first high-level talks since 1949

It's interesting this unprecedented meeting takes before Taiwanese elections in January 2016, when Ma is expected to step down. His party, the Kuomintang are doing badly in the opinion polls, as many Taiwanese are frustrated and tired of the KMT cosying up so much to the mainland.

Taiwan is flooded with mainland Chinese visitors and many frictions erupt, very similar to the ones in Hong Kong, though because the Taiwanese have a Japanese-style temperament, they try to be polite and hold in their disdain...

Ma's office has already stated that the purpose of his trip is to "consolidate cross-strait peace and maintain the status quo", and that he would not sign any agreements, nor issue any joint statements with China during the trip.

It's interesting Singapore was chosen, but it's a relatively neutral site compared to say Hong Kong.

The mainland has a good relationship with the Lion City, while the city state also has a close informal relationship with Taiwan and the two signed a free trade pact in 2013.

This is a politically sensitive time for Ma's party in Taiwan

Both sides will be watching very closely for body language clues and of course which words are chosen in statements.

It's not going to resolve everything, but it's an intriguing first step forward to see how the leaders like or dislike each other, what they talk about and how this gets the ball rolling on future talks.

However if Taiwan elects the Democratic Progressive Party or DPP back into power, which is all for pro-independence, will that derail chances of future talks?

The cross-straits relationship is such a fascinating thing to watch!

Taiwan: Final Observations

A foggy view of the city from Taipei 101

During our trip to Taiwan, we saw lots of mainland tourists, but also Japanese as well. You could instantly tell the difference between the two because they were like night and day.

The mainlanders spoke loudly, usually wore mis-matched clothing and footwear, and carried lots of shopping bags, while the Japanese were the complete antithesis -- polite, quiet, well dressed and well traveled.

It's interesting to see how the Taiwanese have been so strongly influenced by the Japanese decades after the occupation, or it's because the Taiwanese are so desperate not to be mistaken as mainlanders.

The Taiwanese are also very polite, quiet, well-dressed, and also very honest and generous. One time our tour guide opened the lid to her lip balm in a washroom in a shopping mall and it fell and rolled out of her stall.

After she came out she asked the washroom attendant if she had seen the lid and to give it back to her. The attendant kindly said she would, and seemed to try to memorize the guide's face. This would never happen in Hong Kong -- in fact one would never bother to ask because the answer would be "No", or "Find it yourself".

Also the honesty and straight-forwardness was refreshing. It made me realize how skeptical I am when I hear about or see something in Hong Kong -- I'm always on alert wondering, "Is that true?"

But in Taiwan, there seemed to be almost no reason to be skeptical of almost anything which made me realize how typical it is for people in Hong Kong to be scammed and it is your own fault for not knowing.

Or is it because the Taiwanese do a good propaganda job on us?

For example they are so proud of the National Palace Museum, for Chiang Kai-shek's foresight in protecting the treasures from the Forbidden City. Many locals are fans of the museum and come every few months when some of the exhibits change. They are also very learned and educated people who know a lot about Chinese culture, particularly history, literature and the arts.

While they respect Chiang for establishing Taiwan after 1949, the Kuomintang practically colonized the island, resulting in the White Terror period, where anyone considered against the KMT were arrested and or killed.

However in hindsight they resented his spending two-thirds of the budget on the military because he wanted to be ready to fight China anytime to reclaim it, and only one-third on developing the island.

It was his son Chiang Ching-kuo who became Premier of the Republic of China from 1972-78 and then President of the Republic from 1978 to his death in 1988, who realized that Taiwan would lose the battle to reclaim the mainland and instead focused on building the island into what it is today.

When we visited the Culture Park of the Chiangs, I remarked to our tour guide that American General Joseph Stilwell didn't like Chiang Kai-shek and called him "Peanut" for his incompetence, a fact she did not know at all.

But back to today, where Taiwan is being led by President Ma Ying-jeou and his popularity is at an all-time low of 9.2 percent in September from 13 percent -- even lower than when Chen Shui-bian was in office -- thanks to Ma's pro-China stance. Many Taiwanese feel he is selling out Taiwan to the mainland. Not that they want Chen to return as he's in jail for corruption, but they definitely want someone representing their interests. Sound familiar?

There are other domestic issues too, as Taiwan's economy is stagnant, with nothing really stimulating it except for mainland tourism. Fresh graduates are having trouble finding jobs and property prices are sky high. Sound familiar?

The Taiwanese are also curious to see how Hong Kong is dealing with China and so they are watching with interest what happens next year with Occupy Central. While the pro-Beijing camp is trying to pre-empt the group by saying it's radical and its plan is illegal, some Occupy Central members have reached out to Taiwan for moral support.

This has really annoyed China, but in some ways, Hong Kong and Taiwan are two peas in a pod, dealing with the same dragon.