Former Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou is set to lead a delegation to mainland China, despite repeated warnings from Taiwanese authorities.
On Wednesday, the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation announced that Ma, who is a former chairman of Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), would lead a student visit to mainland China from Saturday.
He would conclude his trip on June 27 after attending the Straits Forum in Xiamen, a city that faces Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait, and travelling to the northwestern province of Gansu to attend a ceremony honouring Fuxi, one of the legendary ancestors of the Han Chinese, according to a statement.
Last year, the KMT delegation was led by vice-chairman Sean Lien Sheng-wen.
On Wednesday, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council released a statement saying Ma’s decision to attend the forum was “inappropriate and inconsistent with his position, and the government deeply regrets and finds it incomprehensible”.
The same day, DPP spokesman Wu Zheng accused Ma of “playing along with” Beijing’s show, adding that his visit would “put the Taiwanese people in an unjust situation”.
