Ex-Taiwan leader visits China to foster cross-strait peace

Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou headed to China on Dec 18 for a trip that he said was aimed at building "a bridge for peace", after Beijing last week intensified military drills around the island.

TAIPEI - Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou headed to China on Dec 18 for a trip that he said was aimed at building "a bridge for peace", after Beijing last week intensified military drills around the island.

Mr Ma, who belongs to the Beijing-friendly main opposition party Kuomintang, was president of the democratic island from 2008 to 2016.

He oversaw warmer relations between Taiwan and China which culminated in a 2015 summit between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping – a rare meeting of Beijing and Taipei's leaders.

Tensions soared after Mr Ma's successor Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office in 2016 and rejected China's claim of sovereignty over the self-ruled island.

Mr Ma, who is leading a student delegation for the trip, said exchanges between young people in China and Taiwan were important when "cross-strait relations are far more tense than when we were in power".