That DW Reporter is just playing DUMB.... He wants Beijing to opt out of the use of force....... Guess what? As soon as Beijing accepts it, Taiwan will declare its Independence!!!
@@NJ-wb1cz You mean Chinese territory. There has never been a country called Taiwan. There is the island of Taiwan. There is the province of Taiwan under the administration of Republic of China.
@@ta0304Nice Of You To Say But Due To US Meddling As Usual This Was Bound To Happen.Since Taiwan Aligned With US They Will Bear The Consequences.And Please Don't Start With The Nonsense Of Democracy & Autocracy US & EU Track Record Is Not Great Either.😂😂😂
This is actually issue of ROC and PRC as civil war have not ended. It is actually the same as any other civil war in any other country. Even the ex president of ROC already stated it. Alot of people here wanted independence should be ready to face a war. Just being frank here.
I'm African living in Europe. I think the US and it's European allies are using Taiwan like Ukraine. China has a longer breath in this conflict. Even if China loses today if there's a conflict, they'll try and try again until they succeed. Even if it takes another hundred years, DEMOCRATICALLY or otherwise. Peace to all Chinese speaking people ❤
Taiwan is getting attacked by China. The anti-China sentiment is earned due to the actions by China. Why can't you see that? The only thing you can see is conspiracy of American and European imperialists. When America invaded Afghanistan, you blame on America and call them "warmongers". But when Russia invaded Ukraine, you say Russia didn't do anything wrong and its all because America was expanding NATO. (You don't even understand why Ukraine was trying to join NATO). You have blatant anti-west double standard mindset. I know what you want to do. You just want to hate America, so you are justifying the Chinese imperialism. I would not surprised, even if you support China when China invaded Taiwan.
No one is making Russia and China to go to war. Like seriously the US is losing more money by actually giving money and weapons to Ukraine here. They didn’t make Russia invade either. It is their own greed and paranoia.
You said it yourself. China will try and try again. That means you agree with their greed. And you hate US and Europe for trying to stop that greed. I mean stop fighting. China is literally big enough so as Russia. I don’t see your point of encouraging their greed.
@@andromedamessier3176 is Ukraine attacking donbass again and again their greed? EU and US recognise Taiwan as Chinese territory. Taiwan is not anymore independent than Donbass is. what is insane is the west is doing to China what it accuse Russia of doing to Ukraine which is to support seperatism.
isn't hk much better than pre 97? at least the head of state is kind of elected, prior to that only British could hold that position n many top posts. the hk people were 2nd grade citizens
@@GIedits-vf7reya just look at US they supposedly have real choices but only knuckle heads are being offered for election by powerful oligarchy behind the scene.
He wants to avoid another Ukraine for his country. It is always good to be in negotiating terms with your neighbours, rather than trusting others to help you.
know the meaning of your words before you speak them. Negotiation implies some level of fairness. Can you tell me the fairness of them negotiating with china?
Yep; it's because Ukraine's administration and citizens were willing to fight that international supports were able to come. Had it been like Afghanistan or waiving white flag than even if some nations wants to; will be unable to help it. This guy's approval rate went below 2 digits (9%) and cost his party's follow up presidential election in a big way.... Note: this guy's family members and family grave are all located in the mainland so to me; its hard to tell if they are being taken as hostage that can roam freely. e.g O__o were they able to leave mainland together to vote in Taiwan's election?
Because democratic countries have a right and a duty to enforce democracy where needed We can't allow importune parts of the world to descends into chaos or be run by aggressive authoritarian regimes
Sorry , it is not the same first German they never had civil war. Second china today is the biggest exporter to democratic countries. DGR , it was ruled by the USSR.
For general Chinese people point of view, the best way for Taiwan is to maintain statues quo. It is not only for Taiwan but also for mainland China. China itself currently has many internal challenges that may drive the country to unexpected direction. A democratic Taiwan would be a excellent example for the people across the strait what a Chinese society can achieve under democratic system. The existence of Taiwan could be a driving force for China's progress. It is ideal both sides can be close-tired under democratic system.
But in a way that is also the problem. Taiwan is a persistent example of a society the mainlanders can never have with the CCP, so Taiwan is a permanent example to the masses of people of a potential post CCP mainland China. This threatens the CCP’s political influence .
@@哈哈哈人文摄影师Singapore? Taiwan is 50x larger than Singapore. Taiwan's potential for growth and change is much larger than Singapore's. Taiwan has preserved many originalities in the aspect of society elements which Singapore is diluting even faster. I guess in many years later, you will still hear interesting stories from Taiwan, but Singapore could be just a boring mega work-office place.
The one was a bit silly to keep asking if we could request nonuse of forces. One of the answers could be a counter question "what price you will pay?" This is a negotiation process. You cannot ask a huge thing for nothing.
I know right, a similar response could come back asking "can Taiwan then promise to never declare independence? Can Taiwan promise to never expand it's military?". You are on point that it's about the negotiation, and giving up leverage is a silly thing to ask.
No so many former presidents in the world would share perspectives on current administrations, because it's vital to understand that their views may not align with the majority sentiment. In the case of Ma, characterized as a "bumbler" by the Western press, it's noteworthy that opinions from him and his party, no longer in power, may not represent the majority of Taiwanese people. Not to mention that Ma, with a notable low point of 9.2% approval from the citizens of Taiwan during a specific period, is one of the worst presidents of Taiwan.
Ma's argument is false, because the good relations with China during his presidency was not due to his policy, and today's tension wit China was not DPP's doing. Beijing is the root of everything, during Ma's tenure, Beijing was still buying time, but after Xi came to power, things changed. He needed external tension to be the dictator for life, and Taiwan was just a card he played to increase tension to get internal support under the banner of patriotism/nationalism. But Hong Kong was the last signal that woke up the Taiwanese and secured DPP's winning.
@@drexplordinaireDonetsk and Luhansk "People's Republics" are an artificial product created by Russia. They didn't organically come from a civil war between ideologies like Taiwan vs Mainland China
For People who have never been to Mainland china, Taiwan or Hong Kong. Please go visit all 3 places if you can. You will have a much better understanding. We should all try to strive for peaceful coexistence.
We could, but the U.S. and U.K. has been meddling with HK and Taiwan for far too long. CIA and MI6 really got their hands in many of the modern civil unrests events.
@@catsNcodetheir meddling has brought us to the current state of affairs ie the declaration of the right to use force is a product of the insincere and deceptive goals originally negotiated and agreed upon, say one thing do another
That's true. Once you have seen how people live in these places, contentedly going about their own business, you'll start to wonder what democracy has ever to do with people's daily lives.
DW should interview the KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih instead of ex-president Ma. Totally different leagues and it is more about choosing the leader not the party.
As a past President, he presented Taiwan better than you. Secondly, the youths in TW should join the armed forces and prepare to fight. Join the army yourself have you?
When dw decided to interview ma, its already an unfair game, ma's personal option does not represent the people of Taiwan, he had a lowest satisfaction rate of supports while he was in office. He represents noone but himself only. It is unwise of dw to give him an interview. It's almost like interview Trump and ask him thoughts on immigrants, very unwise.
The same can be said for anyone. All individuals only represent their own views. No one can represent the view of all Taiwanese people. We should listen to what Ma has to say and make our own determination as to whether or not what he's saying is credible.
The journalist doesn't know what he's talking about. It's a Western view. Peace is always best not spinning war all over the world. Well done to President Ma
@@dirtyharry6297 What kind of freedom you are talking about which they are lacking? As far as I know, there are so many Chinese tourists around the world they all went out of the country, and all went back to China.
while his voice may not be a popular one or representing the Taiwan people, i do understand what he is trying to say. And its a problem when your neighbor is expecting something from you that you dont want to provide, Still providing a way to keep the peace while keeping the dialog about the request open to avoid a conflict you know you cannot win. and will cost you dearly. The only way to keep it in check is to be strong enough your self that the neigbor knows that even if he wins it will be a costly win. and that the bounty of the victory will be a poor one compared to being friends and have an understanding to work along with eachoter.
@@Afrorack Not a situation you can compare Taiwan with, yes there is a big agressor as a neibor but their history and the opinion of Russia in this situation is different as you will see with Taiwan. Only lesson that could be taken out as an comparison maybe and even this is debatable due to the size difference of the country and the diffence in accesability of the borders of the country, is that a war is costly and can take as long as you see right now with North and South Korea. Also the devistation and the loss of Value that comes with the war. both assets and population.
@@shintsu01 I agree the analogy is bad, but only because Taiwan is worse in every way. Ukraine has the 2nd largest army in Europe. Taiwan does not have the 2nd largest navy in Asia. China is 10 times the population of Russia. Taiwan has 1/3rd the population of Ukraine. China is the world's factory. Russia is a gas station with nukes. Ukraine's supply lines go over land and are hard to attack. Taiwan's go over the ocean and are easy to attack. China might win in a fight against the US, while Russia cannot. I'm not saying Taiwan will necessarily lose, but if you look at Afghanistan or Vietnam, waiting for superpowers give up takes 20 years of resistance. Even if China fails to land any troops on Taiwan, it can bomb the island to oblivion and keep it under blockade. If you had to choose one, would you rather live in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Vietnam or Hong Kong?
@@djinn666 I totally agree with you here, I do expect however if a war starts that Taiwan will not give in for free. I expect China to see Taiwan as the gateway to High tech products and development. So far i have seen China provide only Production capacity but still is behind the High Tech part. This is something that Taiwan has, and if they bomb it to ashes they cannot expect to get this fragile resource they may want to leverage. And this is the part i mention on the costly part of China. Yes they can grap Taiwan if they want. But they will not get the resource its valuable for. And they will not get the people. + they will be antagonizing the rest of the world as did Russia, so economic suicide. I see that as a lose lose for everyone. Hence keeping dialoge and find a way to keep everyone happy is the only sane option. But i feel China is also a country that dont like to lose face, so if insulted and pushed enough i am afraid they will still do the unwise action just to keep face.
Brilliant President Ma, you are not only great President but also great “peace maker”. This two journalists are there to fulfilling their programs to make many. As an world “citizen”, I hope the Taiwanese people can “avoid” a conflict across the Taiwan strait
That is the key question: Did you visit Taiwan when I was president? - and Xi was President in China. Western Media Reports portrays the current tension as something that started few years ago
At the end of his presidency, Ma only had 9% approval rating. Now even the presidential candidate of his own party distances himself from Ma. How much Ma's view can represent Taiwanese is highly questionable.
His views do not represent Taiwan. I don't understand why the Taiwanese government allows a former president to travel to a hostile country for an unsanctioned visit. There should be a law barring such actions by former presidents.
@@adrianchong5883 people just don’t want to be governed by the current Chinese government. And they will resist especially young people. I mean who want to be governed by a government that has cancel culture as its foundation?
@@adrianchong5883 people don’t wanna be govern by current Chinese government. I mean who wanna be govern by a government with cancel culture as its foundation? Ofc young people will resist.
@@andromedamessier3176 CCP has more appproval rate then any western goverment lol. before you say these are chinese mad up propoganda but the truth is survey was done by western group.
And after this interview, Ma was absent to the pre-election campaign of Hou, the presidential candidate recommended by Ma's own party, KMT. When being asked, Ma just replied that he was not invited.
If Taiwan's independence depends on other countries, that is not independence. We should not understand "unification" as the big one swallows the small one. It can be the small one changes the big one. If Taiwan's people want a truly democratic and independent country, they should go beyond defending themselves but to negotiate with the mainland with the intent of maintaining a peaceful relationship. Does Taiwan's people have the confidence to make the world a place for their descendants?
@@titakristengco Ma approach is more amicable and will bring peace for the region. China has no plan to rule Taiwan directly but the rule of the game is simple. No independence, remain a part of China. Taiwan as an unsinkable Aircraft Carrier won't be realized. No first or second strike will be allowed from the island. A reingnited civil war won't be likely under Ma leadership. Sovereignty is not negotiable.
Taiwanese here, and no, the majority doesn't want any kind of reunification. Ma's view only represented the older, dying generation. The younger generation believes themselves to be Taiwanese and doesn't want to have anything to do with China beyond normal international relationships.
then tell me, if you're Taiwanese but not Chinese then why is your country not called "Republic of Taiwan"? why does your passport has the word "China" in it? even your own constitution doesn't agree with you my friend.
Please change your constitution first to remove the mainland from The Republic of China and then change the name of your country to the Republic of Taiwan if you really want to break free. Do the right thing, walk to talk. Even president-elect Lai does not have the guts to do the above.
He's not funny, I'm taiwanese, too and I think we need to prosecute him and let him spend some time in jail for treason. Criminal Code Article 104 and 115-1
@@SharonHsu-to7vi you can't. Because what are you saying is anti democratic. Anybody can be free to have his opinion in a democracy. So you can not jail anybody for his opinions. The main ideea of democracy is everybody has the right to have and to express his ideea/ opinion. On each election the majority is deciding by vote. The majority can change his opinion and then a new political decision is implemented according to the new vote. So what are you saying or request actually is dictatorship. 😂
Hong Kong is not a country, and it did not have military forces to support itself. Taiwan has military forces, so they can use It to support themselves when they negotiate and make deals with china,if they can avoid the war. War is not the only way to solve problems.
Hong Kong was a British colony that was leased until 1996. The UK was Treaty bound to return HK to China in 1996, and the only question is how that would happen. The UK could have breached the Treaty and attempted to hold HK by fighting another Opium War with China; however, it was abundantly clear that HK was indefensible. Had the UK fought, China would have prevailed and imposed MASSIVE reparations on the UK, starting with the nationalization of all British assets in HK.
This is not just a simple issue for China and Taiwan. It's an important problem for all countries including the US in the Pacific. So they won't let China do what China wants.
Washington isn't going to let China have its way with Taiwan until US high end chip manufacturing facilities are up and at full rate production. TSMC just broke ground in Arizona last Summer. This is a critical US and Allied (NATO & AUKUS) defense issue. The USG is spending $231 Bn on this.
In Ma’s mind he did everything right, but not MOST of the people in Taiwan. And it showed in elections results after his term his party lost. And the darkest days of Taiwan foreign affairs was US cut Taiwan and established formal diplomatic relations with PRC(China), but Taiwan didn’t fall, we stood strong and now stronger. Ma is an old man, he doesn’t understand tides has turned, when China showed its teeth, world knows what it has in mind.
But he understands that China aint joking about that war thing. Two snaps and it is over for Taiwan. Everything that was achieved and appreciative of is now lost with a few bombs falling. Like America, China can be a cold MF. Avoid what you can, with whom you can, for as long as you can. That was/is President Ma's mantra. As he said it might be unpopular but China never showed aggression during his two terms in office.
White man, don't put words into Xi Jinping mouth, he did not say he cannot tolerate status quo. He said he cannot tolerate Taiwan declaring independence and he will use force only if Taiwan declare independence.
Ma is very despicable of saying Lai as Lie with no respect to the family surname. Ma... You simply has disgrace yourself. No surprise once was described " a daft!
When Ma was President of Taiwan, this guy wasn't born yet hence his knowledge of Taiwan's history is so shallow and naive. Thumb down for him for not doing adequate research. How strong is the military proposition for present Taiwan he don't even know.
Mr. Ma's capitulationism is only supported by a few people in Taiwan. The majority of Taiwanese support Taiwan stays in the democratic camp. Taiwan is a great democratic nation.
No, unification isn't and won't be acceptable to most of the Taiwanese. KMT doesn't seem to understand how it lost the last two presidential elections. And it's going to fail in the upcoming election for the same reason.
Please do not distort President Ma's thinking using unmoral misleading headline to propagate your ideaology! It is shame to youself and damage DW's image! from a Taiwanese Chinese.
Ukrainian girls are now receiving last minute combat trainings before being sent to front lines. Taiwan will not last nearly as long as Ukraine. If military conflict were to take place, the war will last days and everyone on the island will die. Everything will be lost. Unless Taiwan surrenders before the last person dies. I love Taiwanese and know them well. They are peaceful people who don't know anything about war anymore.
You may not know, but after World War II, the Taiwanese struggled mightily to establish a democratic system. Now, that history of painful suffering is about to be destroyed all at once.
It s about China s sovereignty, Taiwan is the last piece of land that needs to be reunified. The people who have different political aspirations can emmigrate to Germany
@@krashme997 Chinese historical tradition, every new dynasty has to eliminate the old dynasty to be accepted, it's why it's a life and death situation for the PRC. This happened before, when the Ming fled to the Kingdom of Tungning, which the Qing annexed. ROC was the old dynasty, the PRC is the new one.
Some historical facts about Taiwan : In a 1972 joint communiqué with the PRC, the United States "acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China" and "does not challenge that position." It reaffirms the U.S. interest in a peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question. The United States has formal relations with the PRC, recognizes the PRC as the sole legal government of China, and simultaneously maintains its unofficial relations with Taiwan while taking no official position on Taiwanese sovereignty. The US “acknowledges” but does not “endorse” PRC's position over Taiwan, implying it neither supports nor rejects China's sovereignty over Taiwan, and has considered Taiwan's political status as “undetermined”.
Read between the lines, the US provides high tech wIeapons to a Taiwan, if your interpretation is right the US supplies weapons to a rebel faction it doesn't recognize in any official capacity.
The US is using Taiwan as its chess piece. Taiwan is not important to the US security, only economics. The way its going its better for the US to sell more weapons to Taiwan, more threats means more weapons sold. The best outcome for both chinese states is to sit down and deal with one another like before. One China policy and dont try to be Run-away bride.
Taiwan's belonging to China was determined by the Cairo Declaration, the Persian Gulf Declaration, and United Nations Resolution 2758, and the position of the United States cannot influence the facts
President Ma is truly a visionary. Many young Taiwannese have never been to China and have been constantly brainwashed by Western media. DPP confuses sovereignty with independence. Mainland China agrees to 92 consensus of "One china different interpretation" which the KMT adheres to. It means that KMT can claim sovereignty (and ownership of mainland and South China sea) without claiming independence. If you ask any HK/Macau people traveling abroad where they are from, they always say HK/Macao, it does not mean that they want to be independent from China (as Western media often framed it on Taiwan). Peaceful unification truly has no time line just as status quo, as they both all work in mainland's favor as it is becoming stronger. Independence means war right away on the other hand. Pro-independence leaning means war potential constantly at your door. Fate of Any place is of course determined by the people of that area. It is up to Taiwanese to determine they want war or peace. So if they choose independence, they declare war on mainland. If they choose to favor independence de facto (without the One china 2 interpretations), they choose to be constantly under the threat. If they choose to have One china 2 interpretations, they can get on well with their business and let time decide. Freedom and democracy are just sugar coated terms for America/West to fool people. When do they ever care those for other countries? On the other hand, mainland China is up to mainland chinese people to choose, 100m have travelled abroad. Most are happy with their progress and prosperity and their system. It is America that is feeling insecure (as they did with Japanese). Freedom and democracy are just tools they are using to contain China. Noted that no Asean country is buying it. I personally think America is wrong. They should ride on top of China and sharpen their competitive skills. They can certainly control their immigration to be high quality to drive their innovations, as their quality these days indeed goes nosedive. China has been learning from West and worked hard on it (as many Asean countries) but they dont necessarily agree but respect with their cultures and systems (as Thailand is a key example). International relationships and developments should be based on such an example. Asean is a great model for the world, no judgement, no interference and peaceful existing and co-development for the mankind. Calling China system is "bad" from outside China is by itself judgmental, especially considering how China has progressed under such a "bad" system
@@Carbuncle0168 We are happy to ally USA, Japan and any other democratic countries. China does not need any others because what you want is people's commune. God bless you!
Even if DPP is re-elected, Taiwan will still not declare independence. Lai Ching-te: "The current name according to our constitution is the Republic of China. And in respect to unifying Taiwanese society, President Tsai has used the term Republic of China (Taiwan) to describe our country. I will continue to do so in the future. There are no plans to change the name of our country."--Bloomberg interview 2023
The ROC government regularly declares that it is an independent country. There are numerous respective official statements on the website of the Mainland Affairs Commission.
"We can never win a war" and "Taiwanese people will accept unification." Ma had plenty of nuance to share on those two points, but at the end of the day, those two sound bites will 1. demoralize most Taiwanese 2. be used in Chinese propaganda for domestic consumption. Both statements were irresponsible.
Why irresponsible? He no longer government official, that's his opinion. I thought Taiwan has freedom of speech. I guess you can have freedom of speech as long as they align with the ruling party.
I never said he didn't have the freedom to voice his opinion. I said it was irresponsible. Former leaders of countries should still measure their words carefully and be cognizant of how individual soundbites could be misused. @@snoweagle5025
KEY POINT: 24:30 - Ma believes majority of people will accept a democratic and peaceful reunion in the future. I think many young people might not even in t future. This is the fundamental point of conflict, not status quo.
Exactly, Ma still lives in his own age group and ignores that the younger generation has largely changed their perspectives and wishes for reunion. They no longer want a reunification with China and want to keep Taiwan as is, as an independent country.
I agree with you. Ma and many older "waishenren" want reunification, because they consider mainland China their true home. They cannot get it through their heads that younger Taiwanese has zero interest in having anything to do with China. That said, immediately after 24:30, Ma pointed out the consequences of wanting independence. And I believe (just as the older waishenren has a disconnect about Taiwanese not wanting to associate with mainland China) the young people of Taiwan has a disconnect about declaring independence and the ievitability of war.
@@cate9963 I agree with you - except I think the DPP politicians have to be a lot more precise with their langauge. For example, I know exactly what you mean by independent country - basicaly the current status. But DPP politicians have to be able to use smart language like "keeping the status quo; we want Taiwanese people to decide their future" which is less offensive to China as opposed to a DPP president saying "Taiwan i must be kept independent" which is more offensive language. It is a shame when politicians dont know how to take the true meaning of the people's beliefs, and use the precise language to keep Taiwan safe. Same policy, but smarter language to keep Taiwan in its current form as well as safe.
Ma's old boss Chiang Ching-kuo, Taiwan's ex-president & son of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek would be SO DISAPPOINTED in him. This guy made a huge cut to Taiwan's military budget & opened up Taiwan's economy to be too dependen on China during his tenure. Makes me wonder what CCP promised him in return.
Did you know TSMC has chip manufacturing in Japan, German, and even China? Need to separate manufacturing from the research/development/design. The brain trust for the design of advanced chips remains in Taiwan.
With a Chinese as a president in Taiwan, it's without a doubt Republic of China can never win any war. He is right about that! He had done whatever necessary to make sure CCP win its war with Taiwan military during his era. That is very kind of him.
As Lee Kuan Yew said, PRC and ROC are 1 country. Its either they peacefully reunify or fight till the end last man standing wins. Which one does Taiwan prefers? Going independent yet avoiding war is a lie or a dream that is sold to them by campaigning politicians not explaining the consequences. Now they have come to this again.
He ALSO said that he would “Never trust China,” and that China “will never accept being 2nd to the U.S. “…. More importantly, if you look in Singapore’s harbour, you will see “permanent” docking berths for U.S. Ships ONLY. No other country’s military is allowed to remain in Singapore-ordered by LKY
Even the United States of America has a law that says if any state within the union moves towards independence the Federal Government will use military force to bring the state back in to the Union. Can the USA change that law and give up the use of force ?
@RedXIV unfortunately your statement about the majority of Taiwanese people opposing reunification is inaccurate. Majority of Taiwanese people wants status quo. a minority of Taiwanese people is oppose to reunification. The reason for this is that the DPP has been re-educating the Taiwanese people with a lot of false information for the past 20 years painting a very wrong and grim picture of China. They also teach young students in school that China is a very horrible place and that people are starving and dying on the streets. They also teach young students that there is no freedom of religion, speech and movement on the mainland, which is unfortunately false. As the people on the mainland has more freedom of religion, speech and movement than the people in the island of Taiwan. I know you will not believe me because you have probably never been to China over the past 10 or 20 years because the mainstream media too has been painting these lies about China for decades too.
Armchair expert Host isn't getting the answers he wants to hear. So he is having a hard time processing reality which Ma is talking. DW is known to be anti-China, a US propganda mouthpiece.
In hindsight, 1992 consensus was perfect. Each side could claim their sovereignty freely while asserting their Chinese legacy. Cross strait relations were flourishing. Taiwan could be the bridge between US and mainland. ROC system could be a case study for PRC and vice-versa. If PRC failed, they would have some kind of solace that a functioning Chinese government (ROC) would take-over without falling into chaos like the USSR. As a neutral observer, DPP's pro-west pro-independence ideology doesnt even make sense. Taiwan could have the best of both worlds, but DPP is so insistent on breaking their own motherland.
I feel the interviewer is being deliberately obtuse. Ma Ying-Jeou's position is clear - DDP is a pro-independence party, and everyone who in the party is commited to the ideal of an independent Taiwan. It doesn't matter if the candidate make statements about not pushing for indepedence upon being elected, the key thing is that they will take steps in making independence a reality, and this is what got on CCP's nerves. On the matter of deterrance, the word "deterrance" is as clear as it could be - have an enough of a military force to deter the Chinese war hawks from thinking that they can get an easy victory, but at the same time also acknowledging that if increasing spending in military does not necessary yield enough gains to win an outright war with China, you might as well invest that money in developing the country and create better ties between the 2 sides so that war does not become a reality.
During Mr. Ma's speech, It always Mainland-Taiwan, and DW guy insists using China-Taiwan. Both of them showed their positions well.
Calling it "mainland" is a reflection of Taiwan's historical (delusional) position of considering China Taiwanese territory
Whit3 reporter is not an honest broker. A propagandist.
That DW Reporter is just playing DUMB.... He wants Beijing to opt out of the use of force....... Guess what? As soon as Beijing accepts it, Taiwan will declare its Independence!!!
@@NJ-wb1cz You mean Chinese territory. There has never been a country called Taiwan. There is the island of Taiwan. There is the province of Taiwan under the administration of Republic of China.
@@ld871111 Fangpi
DW News interviewed wrong person. Mr. Ma's approval rate was 9% at the end of his presidency (2016). How much can he represent Taiwanese?
exactly
I hope Taiwan can avoid a conflict
The problem is the opposite.
The conflict would not be ignited by Taiwan but by China.
Taiwan is nor threatening China.
China is threatening Taiwan.
@@ta0304Nice Of You To Say But Due To US Meddling As Usual This Was Bound To Happen.Since Taiwan Aligned With US They Will Bear The Consequences.And Please Don't Start With The Nonsense Of Democracy & Autocracy US & EU Track Record Is Not Great Either.😂😂😂
@@Xcelcior6780 The track record of China is worse 🤣
@@ta0304Taiwan will be the next Ukraine 🤓
He is a betrayer of Taiwan who sold Taiwan by signing 23 agreements with China.
I am a 65-year-old Taiwanese. After listening to Ma's interview, I can confirm that if Ma was still president, he would have been removed immediately.
You Taiwanese have been too brainwashed by the West.
To ccp he is
Do you mean physically? Who will do it, you?
Yes, you are 65 years old. You could be removed in a flick of a finger!
Agreed. He would charged with treason.
This is actually issue of ROC and PRC as civil war have not ended. It is actually the same as any other civil war in any other country. Even the ex president of ROC already stated it. Alot of people here wanted independence should be ready to face a war. Just being frank here.
And that is why his party lost
I'm African living in Europe.
I think the US and it's European allies are using Taiwan like Ukraine.
China has a longer breath in this conflict.
Even if China loses today if there's a conflict, they'll try and try again until they succeed.
Even if it takes another hundred years, DEMOCRATICALLY or otherwise.
Peace to all Chinese speaking people ❤
Taiwan is getting attacked by China. The anti-China sentiment is earned due to the actions by China. Why can't you see that?
The only thing you can see is conspiracy of American and European imperialists. When America invaded Afghanistan, you blame on America and call them "warmongers". But when Russia invaded Ukraine, you say Russia didn't do anything wrong and its all because America was expanding NATO. (You don't even understand why Ukraine was trying to join NATO).
You have blatant anti-west double standard mindset. I know what you want to do. You just want to hate America, so you are justifying the Chinese imperialism. I would not surprised, even if you support China when China invaded Taiwan.
No one is making Russia and China to go to war. Like seriously the US is losing more money by actually giving money and weapons to Ukraine here. They didn’t make Russia invade either. It is their own greed and paranoia.
It is just about greed and paranoia from Russia and China
You said it yourself. China will try and try again. That means you agree with their greed. And you hate US and Europe for trying to stop that greed. I mean stop fighting. China is literally big enough so as Russia. I don’t see your point of encouraging their greed.
@@andromedamessier3176 is Ukraine attacking donbass again and again their greed? EU and US recognise Taiwan as Chinese territory. Taiwan is not anymore independent than Donbass is. what is insane is the west is doing to China what it accuse Russia of doing to Ukraine which is to support seperatism.
yeah, yeah, china promised Hong Kong can stay as it was in 1997 too.
what could go wrong?
Your type and the US type can go wrong. 😂
isn't hk much better than pre 97? at least the head of state is kind of elected, prior to that only British could hold that position n many top posts. the hk people were 2nd grade citizens
@@etoadnoweh. Russia has elections too but there's no real choice
HK in 1997 made up a quarter of China's GDP today it makes up less than 5 percent things change.
@@GIedits-vf7reya just look at US they supposedly have real choices but only knuckle heads are being offered for election by powerful oligarchy behind the scene.
He wants to avoid another Ukraine for his country.
It is always good to be in negotiating terms with your neighbours, rather than trusting others to help you.
know the meaning of your words before you speak them. Negotiation implies some level of fairness. Can you tell me the fairness of them negotiating with china?
It is better off for peaceful situation for both sides
I don't think China considers Taiwan as a "neighbor"
If this guy was the leader of Ukraine, there would not be Ukraine anymore at this point. Or would be kind of a Belarus like ukraine...
Ukraine getting smaller all the time with the help of USA and Europe.
@@juliethurner4099 Yet it still exist, which without the USA and Europe would not be the case.
Yep; it's because Ukraine's administration and citizens were willing to fight that international supports were able to come.
Had it been like Afghanistan or waiving white flag than even if some nations wants to; will be unable to help it.
This guy's approval rate went below 2 digits (9%) and cost his party's follow up presidential election in a big way....
Note: this guy's family members and family grave are all located in the mainland so to me; its hard to tell if they are being taken as hostage that can roam freely.
e.g O__o were they able to leave mainland together to vote in Taiwan's election?
You mean Ukraine would have all there land, there would be no war 🤡
yes ukraine still exists without young men @@yoshyoka
He's a major reason why KMT can't win a presidential election three times in a row since he left the office
Pls explain,
@@kongakau5058she this man every run prisedent she not win because here said pro china
if not for the divided vote, DPP would have lose. DPP lost the legislature, and would have lost the presidency if not for the spilt vote.
Hi guy, why Germany doesn’t ask US to promise that they will never use force to solve problems with any countries?
We would never agree to it.
And collapse financially due to unable to sell weapons ?
Because democratic countries have a right and a duty to enforce democracy where needed
We can't allow importune parts of the world to descends into chaos or be run by aggressive authoritarian regimes
Sorry , it is not the same
first German they never had civil war. Second china today is the biggest exporter to democratic countries.
DGR , it was ruled by the USSR.
For general Chinese people point of view, the best way for Taiwan is to maintain statues quo. It is not only for Taiwan but also for mainland China. China itself currently has many internal challenges that may drive the country to unexpected direction. A democratic Taiwan would be a excellent example for the people across the strait what a Chinese society can achieve under democratic system. The existence of Taiwan could be a driving force for China's progress. It is ideal both sides can be close-tired under democratic system.
很遗憾的告诉你，大部分的中国大陆人，都不认为中国台湾省是一个理想的榜样。新加坡倒是一个不错的学习目标，虽然新加坡在大部分西方人眼中也不是一个所谓的民主自由的地方。
But in a way that is also the problem. Taiwan is a persistent example of a society the mainlanders can never have with the CCP, so Taiwan is a permanent example to the masses of people of a potential post CCP mainland China. This threatens the CCP’s political influence .
No one fancy Taiwan I can assure you.
@@哈哈哈人文摄影师Singapore? Taiwan is 50x larger than Singapore. Taiwan's potential for growth and change is much larger than Singapore's. Taiwan has preserved many originalities in the aspect of society elements which Singapore is diluting even faster. I guess in many years later, you will still hear interesting stories from Taiwan, but Singapore could be just a boring mega work-office place.
@@noelocs you're talking about imaginary "potentials" instead of actual realities. Please come back down from your daydreams 😂
The one was a bit silly to keep asking if we could request nonuse of forces. One of the answers could be a counter question "what price you will pay?" This is a negotiation process. You cannot ask a huge thing for nothing.
I know right, a similar response could come back asking "can Taiwan then promise to never declare independence? Can Taiwan promise to never expand it's military?". You are on point that it's about the negotiation, and giving up leverage is a silly thing to ask.
China top 1 strategy is to stopped unnecessary imports from Taiwan. Stop ECFA. Taiwan economy will collapse like Ukraine. No war needed.
he's just trying to provoke people into saying idiotic things, just to increase tensions. 🤣🤣
Because KMT hates Taiwan, love CCP, love Xi. KMT wants to sell Taiwan to China. So they can retire in US. with billion. Ma has US green card.
No so many former presidents in the world would share perspectives on current administrations, because it's vital to understand that their views may not align with the majority sentiment. In the case of Ma, characterized as a "bumbler" by the Western press, it's noteworthy that opinions from him and his party, no longer in power, may not represent the majority of Taiwanese people.
Not to mention that Ma, with a notable low point of 9.2% approval from the citizens of Taiwan during a specific period, is one of the worst presidents of Taiwan.
Ma's argument is false, because the good relations with China during his presidency was not due to his policy, and today's tension wit China was not DPP's doing. Beijing is the root of everything, during Ma's tenure, Beijing was still buying time, but after Xi came to power, things changed. He needed external tension to be the dictator for life, and Taiwan was just a card he played to increase tension to get internal support under the banner of patriotism/nationalism. But Hong Kong was the last signal that woke up the Taiwanese and secured DPP's winning.
There will be peace in the Taiwan strait as long as the US stops interfering with other countries' internal affairs. Period!😮😮😮
As long as China stops interfering. Period! What a bully!
Tragedy
Same goes for China
It should be up to people of Taiwan, if they want a unification with China.
Majority Chinese （Mainland China）win over minority （Taiwan island Chinese）is the core idea of democracy , isn't it ?
China isn't even a democracy@@lisa.e5776
so just let any state succeed, like what Donetsk and Luhansk is doing in Ukraine?
@@drexplordinaireDonetsk and Luhansk "People's Republics" are an artificial product created by Russia. They didn't organically come from a civil war between ideologies like Taiwan vs Mainland China
Taiwan is China! 😊
People should know that Ma’s position is not the majority position in Taiwan.
But it is the majority CCP position. Like they own the South China Sea, East China Sea and parts of India.
@@pl5094 Taiwanese. They vote this weekend.
For People who have never been to Mainland china, Taiwan or Hong Kong. Please go visit all 3 places if you can. You will have a much better understanding. We should all try to strive for peaceful coexistence.
We could, but the U.S. and U.K. has been meddling with HK and Taiwan for far too long.
CIA and MI6 really got their hands in many of the modern civil unrests events.
@@catsNcodetheir meddling has brought us to the current state of affairs ie the declaration of the right to use force is a product of the insincere and deceptive goals originally negotiated and agreed upon, say one thing do another
That's true. Once you have seen how people live in these places, contentedly going about their own business, you'll start to wonder what democracy has ever to do with people's daily lives.
Don't just visit, actually talk to the people. You'll learn that the Taiwanese people largely do not consider themselves Chinese.
So they are Americans?
DW should interview the KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih instead of ex-president Ma. Totally different leagues and it is more about choosing the leader not the party.
Hou will not be forthcoming . He has an election to run.
KMT hates Taiwan, love CCP, love Xi. KMT wants to sell Taiwan to China.
It's time to get Ma checked into a seniors centre, because he has clearly lost his mind.
He's clearly one of the smartest chinese on that island
After I watch the whole interview I think what Ma ever did is like waiting for death
I would never respect an opponent who laid their arms down and rolled out the red carpets before war even starts.
Would Xi?
Mr. Ma could not represent Taiwanese voices. We as Taiwanese strongly object to what he has said during his interview.
He presented Taiwanese view as he was full president for 8 years. 😁😁
As a past President, he presented Taiwan better than you. Secondly, the youths in TW should join the armed forces and prepare to fight. Join the army yourself have you?
Look how that unification is working for the people of Hongkong . Lol
working fine if u ask me
He is Neville Chamberlain. Next time he should raise a piece of paper from his pocket.
When dw decided to interview ma, its already an unfair game, ma's personal option does not represent the people of Taiwan, he had a lowest satisfaction rate of supports while he was in office. He represents noone but himself only. It is unwise of dw to give him an interview. It's almost like interview Trump and ask him thoughts on immigrants, very unwise.
Freedom of speech.
The same can be said for anyone. All individuals only represent their own views. No one can represent the view of all Taiwanese people. We should listen to what Ma has to say and make our own determination as to whether or not what he's saying is credible.
The journalist doesn't know what he's talking about. It's a Western view. Peace is always best not spinning war all over the world. Well done to President Ma
Give China back to Taiwan!!
Once you taste the Freedom you will never give up!
Look at Ukraine, fighting like tigers
@@dirtyharry6297 What kind of freedom you are talking about which they are lacking? As far as I know, there are so many Chinese tourists around the world they all went out of the country, and all went back to China.
while his voice may not be a popular one or representing the Taiwan people, i do understand what he is trying to say. And its a problem when your neighbor is expecting something from you that you dont want to provide, Still providing a way to keep the peace while keeping the dialog about the request open to avoid a conflict you know you cannot win. and will cost you dearly.
The only way to keep it in check is to be strong enough your self that the neigbor knows that even if he wins it will be a costly win. and that the bounty of the victory will be a poor one compared to being friends and have an understanding to work along with eachoter.
How is that working out for Ukraine?
@@Afrorack Not a situation you can compare Taiwan with, yes there is a big agressor as a neibor but their history and the opinion of Russia in this situation is different as you will see with Taiwan. Only lesson that could be taken out as an comparison maybe and even this is debatable due to the size difference of the country and the diffence in accesability of the borders of the country, is that a war is costly and can take as long as you see right now with North and South Korea. Also the devistation and the loss of Value that comes with the war. both assets and population.
@@Afrorack Ukraine is not Taiwan. Analogy break down at some point.
@@shintsu01 I agree the analogy is bad, but only because Taiwan is worse in every way. Ukraine has the 2nd largest army in Europe. Taiwan does not have the 2nd largest navy in Asia. China is 10 times the population of Russia. Taiwan has 1/3rd the population of Ukraine. China is the world's factory. Russia is a gas station with nukes. Ukraine's supply lines go over land and are hard to attack. Taiwan's go over the ocean and are easy to attack. China might win in a fight against the US, while Russia cannot.
I'm not saying Taiwan will necessarily lose, but if you look at Afghanistan or Vietnam, waiting for superpowers give up takes 20 years of resistance. Even if China fails to land any troops on Taiwan, it can bomb the island to oblivion and keep it under blockade.
If you had to choose one, would you rather live in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Vietnam or Hong Kong?
@@djinn666 I totally agree with you here, I do expect however if a war starts that Taiwan will not give in for free.
I expect China to see Taiwan as the gateway to High tech products and development. So far i have seen China provide only Production capacity but still is behind the High Tech part. This is something that Taiwan has, and if they bomb it to ashes they cannot expect to get this fragile resource they may want to leverage.
And this is the part i mention on the costly part of China. Yes they can grap Taiwan if they want. But they will not get the resource its valuable for. And they will not get the people. + they will be antagonizing the rest of the world as did Russia, so economic suicide.
I see that as a lose lose for everyone. Hence keeping dialoge and find a way to keep everyone happy is the only sane option. But i feel China is also a country that dont like to lose face, so if insulted and pushed enough i am afraid they will still do the unwise action just to keep face.
Brilliant President Ma, you are not only great President but also great “peace maker”. This two journalists are there to fulfilling their programs to make many.
As an world “citizen”, I hope the Taiwanese people can “avoid” a conflict across the Taiwan strait
the DW Richard Walker is out of his depth in understanding Asian politics especially China's.
If Ma understands the politics, why is he unable to provide a clear explanation???
不是有希望才堅持
對的！
莫道螢光小，猶懷照夜心!
即使是螳臂當車，我們也不會放棄守衞台灣！💪
那你準備替美國打戰？
That is the key question: Did you visit Taiwan when I was president? - and Xi was President in China.
Western Media Reports portrays the current tension as something that started few years ago
Current tension started when he (Ma) stopped to build the strong defense military capability. Shame
The reporter is more interested in manifesting his own pre-determined position than in letting President Ma voice his views.
It’s a good talk. It would be nice if the other DPP candidate could be interviewed as well in English
LOL. Ma is taking a lot of flak for this interview.
They are not native English speakers. Why should they give interviews in English?
@@magnetospin Because Ma thinks his English skills are good enough to give interviews in English.
Our new VP speaks good English.
At the end of his presidency, Ma only had 9% approval rating. Now even the presidential candidate of his own party distances himself from Ma. How much Ma's view can represent Taiwanese is highly questionable.
His views do not represent Taiwan. I don't understand why the Taiwanese government allows a former president to travel to a hostile country for an unsanctioned visit. There should be a law barring such actions by former presidents.
@@tatonga03so what do you expect? Cut ties immediately and prepare for war?
@@adrianchong5883 people just don’t want to be governed by the current Chinese government. And they will resist especially young people. I mean who want to be governed by a government that has cancel culture as its foundation?
@@adrianchong5883 people don’t wanna be govern by current Chinese government. I mean who wanna be govern by a government with cancel culture as its foundation? Ofc young people will resist.
@@andromedamessier3176 CCP has more appproval rate then any western goverment lol. before you say these are chinese mad up propoganda but the truth is survey was done by western group.
Finally I understand. He said unification peacefully and democratically. It means the collapse of CCP. 🙂
Well he is that lucky , China under Xi's ruling actually falling apart on every fields
It will never happen.
It means the collapse of ROC
I build my business in Taiwan when President Ma was President. Truly was peaceful and prosperous
And after this interview, Ma was absent to the pre-election campaign of Hou, the presidential candidate recommended by Ma's own party, KMT. When being asked, Ma just replied that he was not invited.
That's because Ma is enormously unpopular.
If Taiwan's independence depends on other countries, that is not independence. We should not understand "unification" as the big one swallows the small one. It can be the small one changes the big one. If Taiwan's people want a truly democratic and independent country, they should go beyond defending themselves but to negotiate with the mainland with the intent of maintaining a peaceful relationship. Does Taiwan's people have the confidence to make the world a place for their descendants?
Wishful thinking on your part. Taiwan doesn’t have any power over China hence it can only negotiate from a position of weakness and China knows this.
I don’t know anything about internal politics in Taiwan but this gentleman seems so defeatist that I question if he isn’t in the pocket of the CCP.
Stay strong Taiwan 🇵🇭❤️
How to stay strong when the economy is heading downward?
Ma is like our PBBM. Maintening Peace. But we it only ASEAN and China problema not the US.
@@titakristengco
Ma approach is more amicable and will bring peace for the region.
China has no plan to rule Taiwan directly but the rule of the game is simple. No independence, remain a part of China. Taiwan as an unsinkable Aircraft Carrier won't be realized. No first or second strike will be allowed from the island.
A reingnited civil war won't be likely under Ma leadership. Sovereignty is not negotiable.
One sentence to sum up Ma’s personal vision, dream, heritage, and his policies - he’s a red sparrow!
KMT hates Taiwan, love CCP, love Xi. KMT wants to sell Taiwan to China. So they can retire in US. with billion. Ma has US green card.
Taiwanese here, and no, the majority doesn't want any kind of reunification. Ma's view only represented the older, dying generation. The younger generation believes themselves to be Taiwanese and doesn't want to have anything to do with China beyond normal international relationships.
then tell me, if you're Taiwanese but not Chinese then why is your country not called "Republic of Taiwan"? why does your passport has the word "China" in it? even your own constitution doesn't agree with you my friend.
You've just been brainwashed by the DPP textbook since your childhood.
First of all,if you don't want to have anything with China, stop speaking Chinese.
Please change your constitution first to remove the mainland from The Republic of China and then change the name of your country to the Republic of Taiwan if you really want to break free. Do the right thing, walk to talk.
Even president-elect Lai does not have the guts to do the above.
台湾人的想法不重要。统一之后，重新教育改变他们的思想就可以了
Mr. Ma does not represent me.
As a Taiwanese, I find this guy funny. Let him represent himself but not our whole country.
And let you represent yourselves, and NO ONE else. You hear?
your choice, he is much wiser for future
He's not funny, I'm taiwanese, too and I think we need to prosecute him and let him spend some time in jail for treason. Criminal Code Article 104 and 115-1
@@SharonHsu-to7vi you can't. Because what are you saying is anti democratic. Anybody can be free to have his opinion in a democracy. So you can not jail anybody for his opinions. The main ideea of democracy is everybody has the right to have and to express his ideea/ opinion. On each election the majority is deciding by vote. The majority can change his opinion and then a new political decision is implemented according to the new vote. So what are you saying or request actually is dictatorship. 😂
why not your leader should face this ?@@SharonHsu-to7vi
In Singapore our national service every men must do is 2 years in the army . How to do battle with only 4 to 12 months ?
they are just reducing the war tension during ma ying jeou times
6 months training, 1.5 year goyang kaki !
Taiwan knows it's futile to fight China, so it's for show.
@@thedo9607 the reduction was made in DPP rule... DPP don't trust the army.
Kudos for making this interview happening - this could be the one of the most important interviews over human hisotry
DW News interviewed wrong person. Mr. Ma's approval rate was 9% at the end of his presidency (2016). How much can he represent Taiwanese?
Hong Kong is not a country, and it did not have military forces to support itself.
Taiwan has military forces, so they can use It to support themselves when they negotiate and make deals with china,if they can avoid the war. War is not the only way to solve problems.
Do you know what is china in 1950?
I have not seen it. But my parents had lived through it. War is a destruction and kills anyone. it doesn't matter who is good or evil.
Hong Kong was a British colony that was leased until 1996. The UK was Treaty bound to return HK to China in 1996, and the only question is how that would happen. The UK could have breached the Treaty and attempted to hold HK by fighting another Opium War with China; however, it was abundantly clear that HK was indefensible. Had the UK fought, China would have prevailed and imposed MASSIVE reparations on the UK, starting with the nationalization of all British assets in HK.
This is not just a simple issue for China and Taiwan. It's an important problem for all countries including the US in the Pacific. So they won't let China do what China wants.
China can do what they want because it is acknowledgeable by all countries that Taiwan belonged to China
Taiwan is China! 😊
Washington isn't going to let China have its way with Taiwan until US high end chip manufacturing facilities are up and at full rate production. TSMC just broke ground in Arizona last Summer. This is a critical US and Allied (NATO & AUKUS) defense issue. The USG is spending $231 Bn on this.
@@anthonykaiser974 Whatever you think never really equal to what happens
Sooner or later, the Chinese Communist Party will realize that China cannot control Taiwan.
In Ma’s mind he did everything right, but not MOST of the people in Taiwan. And it showed in elections results after his term his party lost. And the darkest days of Taiwan foreign affairs was US cut Taiwan and established formal diplomatic relations with PRC(China), but Taiwan didn’t fall, we stood strong and now stronger. Ma is an old man, he doesn’t understand tides has turned, when China showed its teeth, world knows what it has in mind.
By that logic DPP's Tsai did much worse - she got voted out of office by her own people lol
But he understands that China aint joking about that war thing. Two snaps and it is over for Taiwan. Everything that was achieved and appreciative of is now lost with a few bombs falling. Like America, China can be a cold MF. Avoid what you can, with whom you can, for as long as you can. That was/is President Ma's mantra. As he said it might be unpopular but China never showed aggression during his two terms in office.
@@jadeanomuzik8849 if you weary about raining, bring an umbrella, man. Begging to the Gods doesn’t really help!
White man, don't put words into Xi Jinping mouth, he did not say he cannot tolerate status quo. He said he cannot tolerate Taiwan declaring independence and he will use force only if Taiwan declare independence.
Ma is very despicable of saying Lai as Lie with no respect to the family surname. Ma...
You simply has disgrace yourself. No surprise once was described " a daft!
Thank God Ma isn't the President of Ukraine
Ma told his staff to never refer to the other side as China but the mainland.
When Ma was President of Taiwan, this guy wasn't born yet hence his knowledge of Taiwan's history is so shallow and naive.
Thumb down for him for not doing adequate research.
How strong is the military proposition for present Taiwan he don't even know.
Mr. Ma's capitulationism is only supported by a few people in Taiwan. The majority of Taiwanese support Taiwan stays in the democratic camp. Taiwan is a great democratic nation.
Zhong Tian tv was banned in Taiwan. where's is the democracy?
No, unification isn't and won't be acceptable to most of the Taiwanese.
KMT doesn't seem to understand how it lost the last two presidential elections. And it's going to fail in the upcoming election for the same reason.
Please do not distort President Ma's thinking using unmoral misleading headline to propagate your ideaology! It is shame to youself and damage DW's image! from a Taiwanese Chinese.
Ma doesn't need anyone to misinterpret his statement. He can make a fool of himself without any help.
Ukrainian girls are now receiving last minute combat trainings before being sent to front lines. Taiwan will not last nearly as long as Ukraine. If military conflict were to take place, the war will last days and everyone on the island will die. Everything will be lost. Unless Taiwan surrenders before the last person dies. I love Taiwanese and know them well. They are peaceful people who don't know anything about war anymore.
Ma has his tail between his legs when it comes to backbone issues. Chiang is turning in his grave with disgust of this appeasement with communists.
The two interviewers are way out of their depths for this. President Ma is speaking on a whole other level.
At last, DW find the another half of Taiwan. That's rare.
Man am I so glad that Ma is no longer president
You may not know, but after World War II, the Taiwanese struggled mightily to establish a democratic system. Now, that history of painful suffering is about to be destroyed all at once.
It s about China s sovereignty, Taiwan is the last piece of land that needs to be reunified. The people who have different political aspirations can emmigrate to Germany
@@koenigamdthe people with different political aspirations…you mean those who are brainwashed by the CPC, including all those PRCs， right？
@@koenigamd Why does China not just stay in China instead? What's going to change?
@@krashme997 Chinese historical tradition, every new dynasty has to eliminate the old dynasty to be accepted, it's why it's a life and death situation for the PRC. This happened before, when the Ming fled to the Kingdom of Tungning, which the Qing annexed. ROC was the old dynasty, the PRC is the new one.
@@koenigamdTaiwan has never been a part of the People's Republic of China.
Ma is so easy to read : He gives that “nervous laugh” whenever he’s embarrassed, or is being asked a question he doesn’t want to answer….
Some historical facts about Taiwan : In a 1972 joint communiqué with the PRC, the United States "acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China" and "does not challenge that position."
It reaffirms the U.S. interest in a peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question.
The United States has formal relations with the PRC, recognizes the PRC as the sole legal government of China, and simultaneously maintains its unofficial relations with Taiwan while taking no official position on Taiwanese sovereignty.
The US “acknowledges” but does not “endorse” PRC's position over Taiwan, implying it neither supports nor rejects China's sovereignty over Taiwan, and has considered Taiwan's political status as “undetermined”.
Read between the lines, the US provides high tech wIeapons to a Taiwan, if your interpretation is right the US supplies weapons to a rebel faction it doesn't recognize in any official capacity.
The US is using Taiwan as its chess piece. Taiwan is not important to the US security, only economics. The way its going its better for the US to sell more weapons to Taiwan, more threats means more weapons sold. The best outcome for both chinese states is to sit down and deal with one another like before. One China policy and dont try to be Run-away bride.
Taiwan's belonging to China was determined by the Cairo Declaration, the Persian Gulf Declaration, and United Nations Resolution 2758, and the position of the United States cannot influence the facts
Do not complicate the issue overmuch. Does Taiwan want to remain democratic? That is the only real question.
a lot of problems is not on the surfaces that you can see
President Ma is truly a visionary. Many young Taiwannese have never been to China and have been constantly brainwashed by Western media. DPP confuses sovereignty with independence. Mainland China agrees to 92 consensus of "One china different interpretation" which the KMT adheres to. It means that KMT can claim sovereignty (and ownership of mainland and South China sea) without claiming independence. If you ask any HK/Macau people traveling abroad where they are from, they always say HK/Macao, it does not mean that they want to be independent from China (as Western media often framed it on Taiwan). Peaceful unification truly has no time line just as status quo, as they both all work in mainland's favor as it is becoming stronger. Independence means war right away on the other hand. Pro-independence leaning means war potential constantly at your door. Fate of Any place is of course determined by the people of that area. It is up to Taiwanese to determine they want war or peace. So if they choose independence, they declare war on mainland. If they choose to favor independence de facto (without the One china 2 interpretations), they choose to be constantly under the threat. If they choose to have One china 2 interpretations, they can get on well with their business and let time decide. Freedom and democracy are just sugar coated terms for America/West to fool people. When do they ever care those for other countries? On the other hand, mainland China is up to mainland chinese people to choose, 100m have travelled abroad. Most are happy with their progress and prosperity and their system. It is America that is feeling insecure (as they did with Japanese). Freedom and democracy are just tools they are using to contain China. Noted that no Asean country is buying it. I personally think America is wrong. They should ride on top of China and sharpen their competitive skills. They can certainly control their immigration to be high quality to drive their innovations, as their quality these days indeed goes nosedive. China has been learning from West and worked hard on it (as many Asean countries) but they dont necessarily agree but respect with their cultures and systems (as Thailand is a key example). International relationships and developments should be based on such an example. Asean is a great model for the world, no judgement, no interference and peaceful existing and co-development for the mankind. Calling China system is "bad" from outside China is by itself judgmental, especially considering how China has progressed under such a "bad" system
Thanks for this interview 👍
Terrible! Mr Ma!
Ma's remarks will help ruling out the KMT in the land of Taiwan. Thank you very much. Taiwan can have different parties, but do not need KMT.
Taiwan needs a CPC party
@@Carbuncle0168 China needs DDP, But DDP is not interested.
@@sharontseng7796 ofc, DPP needs USA and Japan because they are funded by USA and Japan
@@Carbuncle0168 We are happy to ally USA, Japan and any other democratic countries. China does not need any others because what you want is people's commune. God bless you!
@@sharontseng7796 c.i.a. bot comments 😂 China isn't even communist at all. USA is democratic? That's the biggest joke
Even if DPP is re-elected, Taiwan will still not declare independence.
Lai Ching-te:
"The current name according to our constitution is the Republic of China. And in respect to unifying Taiwanese society, President Tsai has used the term Republic of China (Taiwan) to describe our country. I will continue to do so in the future. There are no plans to change the name of our country."--Bloomberg interview 2023
You need permission from uncle sam, don't you?
@@u2ber888Definitely not China's! 😉
@@u2ber888 permission . . . I know this might sound weird to you but . . . it is called dignity . It has nothing to do with any other country .
The ROC government regularly declares that it is an independent country.
There are numerous respective official statements on the website of the Mainland Affairs Commission.
Impostor
Calm down ducky.
This guy clearly lives in his lala land, it’s lucky for not only Taiwan but the democratic world, that his party was outsted.
Well, the KMT lost this election, so Taiwanese voters seem to disagree with him.
Great interview!
"We can never win a war" and "Taiwanese people will accept unification." Ma had plenty of nuance to share on those two points, but at the end of the day, those two sound bites will 1. demoralize most Taiwanese 2. be used in Chinese propaganda for domestic consumption. Both statements were irresponsible.
Point 2 is for sure, but don't worry about point 1. Taiwanese are not fooled by his naive views.
Why irresponsible? He no longer government official, that's his opinion. I thought Taiwan has freedom of speech. I guess you can have freedom of speech as long as they align with the ruling party.
I never said he didn't have the freedom to voice his opinion. I said it was irresponsible. Former leaders of countries should still measure their words carefully and be cognizant of how individual soundbites could be misused. @@snoweagle5025
😂😂😂 Ma is the most hated president in Taiwan history.
KMT Presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih today said that he doesn't agree with Ma. He also removed Ma from tomorrow's campaign rally.
Well DPP candidate Lie Ching-te said he does not support Taiwan independence before the election. He lied.
His view cannot say for Taiwan
KMT hates Taiwan, love CCP, love Xi. KMT wants to sell Taiwan to China. So they can retire in US. with billion. Ma has US green card.
KEY POINT: 24:30 - Ma believes majority of people will accept a democratic and peaceful reunion in the future. I think many young people might not even in t future. This is the fundamental point of conflict, not status quo.
Exactly, Ma still lives in his own age group and ignores that the younger generation has largely changed their perspectives and wishes for reunion. They no longer want a reunification with China and want to keep Taiwan as is, as an independent country.
I agree with you. Ma and many older "waishenren" want reunification, because they consider mainland China their true home. They cannot get it through their heads that younger Taiwanese has zero interest in having anything to do with China.
That said, immediately after 24:30, Ma pointed out the consequences of wanting independence. And I believe (just as the older waishenren has a disconnect about Taiwanese not wanting to associate with mainland China) the young people of Taiwan has a disconnect about declaring independence and the ievitability of war.
@@cate9963 I agree with you - except I think the DPP politicians have to be a lot more precise with their langauge. For example, I know exactly what you mean by independent country - basicaly the current status. But DPP politicians have to be able to use smart language like "keeping the status quo; we want Taiwanese people to decide their future" which is less offensive to China as opposed to a DPP president saying "Taiwan i must be kept independent" which is more offensive language.
It is a shame when politicians dont know how to take the true meaning of the people's beliefs, and use the precise language to keep Taiwan safe. Same policy, but smarter language to keep Taiwan in its current form as well as safe.
Support DDP‘s policy. Ma doesn't deserve any respect from me.What a shame he used to claim “ I am the president of Taiwan.”
Ma's old boss Chiang Ching-kuo, Taiwan's ex-president & son of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek would be SO DISAPPOINTED in him. This guy made a huge cut to Taiwan's military budget & opened up Taiwan's economy to be too dependen on China during his tenure. Makes me wonder what CCP promised him in return.
Disappointed is an understatement…more like “枪毙十次” for treason
@@EZPZMAGA That is right. Ma has committed treason!
Great interview. Thanks for uploading. Very insightful
The day US decided to set up their chip manufacturing, we knew!!
Every where US step it's foot it leaves destruction
Did you know TSMC has chip manufacturing in Japan, German, and even China? Need to separate manufacturing from the research/development/design. The brain trust for the design of advanced chips remains in Taiwan.
With a Chinese as a president in Taiwan, it's without a doubt Republic of China can never win any war. He is right about that! He had done whatever necessary to make sure CCP win its war with Taiwan military during his era. That is very kind of him.
“His name is Lai”
That shows you what kinda person Ma is.
As Lee Kuan Yew said, PRC and ROC are 1 country. Its either they peacefully reunify or fight till the end last man standing wins. Which one does Taiwan prefers? Going independent yet avoiding war is a lie or a dream that is sold to them by campaigning politicians not explaining the consequences. Now they have come to this again.
He ALSO said that he would “Never trust China,” and that China “will never accept being 2nd to the U.S. “….
More importantly, if you look in Singapore’s harbour, you will see “permanent” docking berths for U.S. Ships ONLY. No other country’s military is allowed to remain in Singapore-ordered by LKY
Even the United States of America has a law that says if any state within the union moves towards independence the Federal Government will use military force to bring the state back in to the Union. Can the USA change that law and give up the use of force ?
BUT….Too bad for China-they were never “united” with Taiwan….( Taiwan has its OWN, indigenous people-not Han Chinese )….
Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China. It's *already* independent.
@Shineon83 it's OK the indigenous people in Taiwan are also Chinese. Hope the whole country will be reunited soon.
@@LoC28C The majority of the Taiwanese people vehemently oppose being "reunited" with China.
@RedXIV unfortunately your statement about the majority of Taiwanese people opposing reunification is inaccurate. Majority of Taiwanese people wants status quo. a minority of Taiwanese people is oppose to reunification.
The reason for this is that the DPP has been re-educating the Taiwanese people with a lot of false information for the past 20 years painting a very wrong and grim picture of China. They also teach young students in school that China is a very horrible place and that people are starving and dying on the streets. They also teach young students that there is no freedom of religion, speech and movement on the mainland, which is unfortunately false. As the people on the mainland has more freedom of religion, speech and movement than the people in the island of Taiwan. I know you will not believe me because you have probably never been to China over the past 10 or 20 years because the mainstream media too has been painting these lies about China for decades too.
China use force ? Show me one countrynChina had invaded ? The US does that yearly
This is a surprising interview!
Long live a free and independent Taiwan 🇹🇼
This guy is clearly in China's pocket 😏
Don't be foolish. Just look at Hong Kong.
😢😮😢😮😢😮😢😮
The title should be “Unification is acceptable to me” said Ma
He is such a loser ; Not Taiwan !!!
A fascinating interview. Thanks, DW.
Armchair expert Host isn't getting the answers he wants to hear. So he is having a hard time processing reality which Ma is talking. DW is known to be anti-China, a US propganda mouthpiece.
In hindsight, 1992 consensus was perfect. Each side could claim their sovereignty freely while asserting their Chinese legacy. Cross strait relations were flourishing. Taiwan could be the bridge between US and mainland.
ROC system could be a case study for PRC and vice-versa. If PRC failed, they would have some kind of solace that a functioning Chinese government (ROC) would take-over without falling into chaos like the USSR.
As a neutral observer, DPP's pro-west pro-independence ideology doesnt even make sense. Taiwan could have the best of both worlds, but DPP is so insistent on breaking their own motherland.
In hindsight, there never was a consensus. The KMT states one thing about it, the PRC an other entirely.
DPP is just more practical as they have seen the example of Hong Kong and realized that it is impossible to fantasize about the mercy from China.
I feel the interviewer is being deliberately obtuse. Ma Ying-Jeou's position is clear - DDP is a pro-independence party, and everyone who in the party is commited to the ideal of an independent Taiwan. It doesn't matter if the candidate make statements about not pushing for indepedence upon being elected, the key thing is that they will take steps in making independence a reality, and this is what got on CCP's nerves. On the matter of deterrance, the word "deterrance" is as clear as it could be - have an enough of a military force to deter the Chinese war hawks from thinking that they can get an easy victory, but at the same time also acknowledging that if increasing spending in military does not necessary yield enough gains to win an outright war with China, you might as well invest that money in developing the country and create better ties between the 2 sides so that war does not become a reality.