Video: Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou spoke by video link to audiences in the United States on April 15, 2013. After his presentation, Stanford University specialists Condoleezza Rice, Larry Diamond, Francis Fukuyama, and Gary Roughead discussed the ideas presented and Taiwan's place in the world.

The USC U.S.-China Institute hosted a viewing of the speech.

Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) was first elected Taiwan's president in 2008. He was reelected in 2012. Before this he served as mayor of Taipei (1998-2006). He was born in 1950 and attended National Taiwan University, New York University, and Harvard Law School. He is married and has two daughters. He got his start in politics working for then President Chiang Ching-kuo. During his presidency, he's worked to improve economic links with the mainland and with other countries. The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement is the broadest of the agreements that have been worked out with Beijing. Trade with the mainland has boomed and since 2008 there have been direct air and sea links. Thousands of tourists from the mainland visit Taiwan everyday. Ma has repeatedly insisted that while economic ties can and should be strengthened, the time is not right to forge political ties and that those could only proceed with the consent of the people of Taiwan.

Click here to read the transcript of President Ma's speech.

Click here to visit the English language Office of the President website and click here to visit the Chinese website.

The USC U.S.-China Institute sent observation groups to Taiwan for the 2008 and 2012 elections. You can read and watch presentations on those at our website, YouTube channel, and iTunes collection. Professor and former Taiwan foreign ministry official Huang Kwei-bo also spoke at USC about Taiwan's flexible foreign policy. We have also produced a documentary on cross-straits relations (part 1 and part 2). Professor Shelley Rigger has also spoken at USCI about Why Taiwan Matters. Our documents collection includes materials on US-Taiwan relations.