"What they achieved in just two months is a marvelous change for both sides of the Taiwan Strait," Ma said during his unprecedented visit to MAC Chairwoman Lai Shih-yuan, in company of Premier Liu Chao-shiuan and several other officials.

He lauded both organizations for the resumption of formal cross-strait negotiations, the launch of weekend direct charter flights and the deal allowing more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan after nearly 10 years of stalemate.

The implications of detente between Taiwan and China have attracted attention from the international community, especially the United States, Japan and many Southeast Asian countries, the president continued.

Foreign observers participating in a recent conference in Hawaii reportedly called current cross-strait developments "the beginning of a stable and peaceful framework in the Taiwan Strait" whose impact is "enormous," he said.

The MAC is a Cabinet-level body responsible for coordinating and executing Taiwan's policy on cross-strait affairs, while the SEF is a semi-private organization commissioned by the government to handle relations between Taiwan and China.

Yet, local media described Ma's visit as an effort to shore up support for Lai, who has come under fire from opposition parties for allegedly failing to uphold Taiwan's sovereignty.

On July 23, a spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office stated in an unofficial meeting with reporters that Beijing would use "Zhongguo Taipei" instead of "Zhonghua Taipei" -- Taiwan's agreed-upon designation for participating in the upcoming summer games -- to refer to Taiwan in places outside Olympic stadiums.

The announcement immediately sparked outrage in Taiwan, where it was seen as a move to downgrade the nation's sovereignty.

Lai was eventually blasted by opposition parties for not taking a strong enough stance in a press release July 24, which called the complications arising from the issue "regrettable" and "hard to understand."

Lai is an academic-turned-legislator from Taiwan-centric opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), which wants to limit economic relations with China in order to protect Taiwan's competitive edge and political sovereignty.

The government's recent decision to allow semiconductor firms to set up advanced, 12-inch wafer factories in China and increased the cap on China-bound investment to 60 percent of a firm's net worth, from 40 percent or less before, has reopened the controversy.

Ma said that relaxation of economic policies toward China did not aim at encouraging Taiwan businessmen to invest in China, but rather at closely integrating Taiwan into the global economy and giving foreign businesses in Taiwan a more liberal and convenient investment environment.

Meanwhile, the TSU denied pressuring Lai to step down yesterday, but announced that it would not endorse her anymore.

TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei argued that the Ma administration has tilted too heavily toward China and that capital flight across the Taiwan Strait had resulted in losses of job opportunities in Taiwan.

"Shouldn't the TSU speak up when the people are in misery?" Huang rhetorically asked, pointing to a planned protest on Aug. 20 against the government's China policy and its alleged failure to deal with inflation.

Huang contended that neither former President Lee Teng-hui, the "spiritual" leader of the TSU, nor the TSU itself, recommended Lai for the post. He said it was Ma who recruited Lai.

"It is only natural for the TSU to monitor and criticize the government if it is doing a poor job even if Lai is a Cabinet member," he went on.

Huang likened Lai's current situation to that of Tang Fei, who served as defense minister in the KMT administration before being briefly named as premier in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government in May 2000.

A DPP official also criticized Lai for allegedly failing to live up to her words.

Cheng Wen-tsang, director of DPP's Department of Culture and Information, noted that Lai said she would serve to put a brake on the government's cross-strait policies when she assumed the post May 20.

"But two months have passed, and we've seen less of her limiting and more of her endorsing the government's policies," he said.

DPP Legislator Chang Hwa-kuan said that Lai's ideals are different from President Ma's, making it difficult for her to do her job well.

Lai should "make a wise choice between turning back on former President Lee and ingratiating President Ma," Chang said.

Her party's stance contradicts that of President Ma, who is pursuing a policy of broad economic normalization with China in a bid to help Taiwan's sluggish economy, he argued.

Unexpectedly, KMT legislators also traded barbs over Lai's performance yesterday.

KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng said that the TSU should strip Lai of her membership to give her a free hand in promoting cross-strait policy.

KMT Legislator Yang Chiung-ying added that Lai "should choose the side of the public interest, and not the side of the interest of one party."