President Ma then discussed the state of relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. He explained to the visitors that he immediately sought to improve cross-strait relations upon taking office in 2008. To date, the two sides have signed 21 agreements, helping to bring the greatest level of peace and stability to the Taiwan Strait in the past 65 years. In addition, Minister Wang Yu-Chi (王郁琦) of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council and Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) of mainland China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council have held four rounds of talks over the past year, he said, pointing out that the two have addressed each other by their official titles, which is extremely significant. But even as the Taiwan government actively works for cross-strait peace, remarked the president, it also takes the stance that a strong national defense is the foundation of peace. It has employed "asymmetric" and "innovative" thinking in creating a military force that, while small, is also strong, specialized, and skillful, he said.
Addressing the recent call by the Hong Kong public for universal suffrage in electing the chief executive, President Ma commented that the ROC always supports democracy, but opposes violence. He called on the Hong Kong government and people to use peaceful and rational means to reach a consensus on this issue as soon as possible.
【Source: Office of the President】