At a press conference on the eve of his first year in office, President Ma absolved himself of charges of selling out Taiwan and declared there is no turning back on the way to an eventual entente between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

In response to the loud accusation of sellout raised by Democratic Progressive Party chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen, President Ma said Taiwan's sovereignty was not downgraded in all the agreements reached between Taiwan and China since he took office on May 20 last year.

Nor is Taiwan's dignity as a sovereign state hurt, though it joined the World Health Assembly as an observer in the name of Chinese Taipei, Ma declared.

An estimated 100,000 supporters took to the streets with Tsai at the head to protest Ma's supposed sellout of Taiwan and demand former President Chen Shui-bian's immediate release on Sunday. It was followed by a 24-hour sit-in in front of the Office of the President.

Held in detention for a half year, Chen is standing trial for forgery, corruption and graft, and money laundering.

Ma said his government is doing what it can to improve relations across the strait. Tensions between Taiwan and China have been greatly eased. The strait is no longer a flash point which it used to be during the eight years Chen was in office.

But the DPP which Chen brought to power in 2000 has continued to oppose President Ma's more open China policy.

No turning back

He wanted to ask the opposition how he should conduct cross-strait relations. "If they want us to go back to where the relations between the two sides of the strait stood eight years ago," he pointed out, "I'm sorry, I can't. That's not the road we should take."

In fact, Ma went on, his government spent one year righting the wrongs made in the eight years.

There is no question of Taiwan, Ma continued. "Taiwan is the Republic of China, historically and constitutionally," he said. The fact, however, is that there are two political entities in China.

No one can deny the existence of Mainland China. "That's why we have defined the Republic of China as comprising the Taiwan area and the Mainland area," he pointed out.

Ma pledged all-out efforts to improve relations across the strait in the next three years. One immediate task is to conclude an economic cooperation framework agreement between the two sides of the strait.

The accord, expected to be signed before the end of this year, will further improve the Taiwan-China rapprochement. "Efforts will be redoubled, with caution, to achieve an even better relationship step by step in the years to come," President Ma said.

"There is no turning back," he declared. Populism?

Asked if he is copying his deceased mentor Chiang Ching-kuo, President Ma said he isn't a copycat. The keyword used to say copying in Mandarin is "shan cai," which was coined in China and borrowed. It literally means a "lair of bandits."

"No," President Ma said, "it's my own version."

Why bandits? Well, they can do what they wish without interference from any quarters. So, any copycat doohickey sold much cheaper than the original is called a "shan cai" version.

Chiang was a populist president. He visited practically every corner of Taiwan to meet common people, calling himself "a Taiwanese." Ma, who served one time as Chiang's special assistant, has never tired of doing what his mentor did.

President Ma lauded Premier Liu Chao-shiuan's Cabinet for doing a fine job. "The Cabinet is doing better, though gradually," he added. He made no response, when queried if he was planning a Cabinet reshuffle.

Thanks to the good work of the Liu Cabinet, Ma said, the Taiwan economy, hit hard by the global financial crisis, will improve in the last two quarters of this year.

"The light is at the end of the tunnel," President Ma said. "We may have to have a hard time ahead, but the situation will show improvement in the third and fourth quarters of this year," he predicted.

Directions of efforts

He outlined the six directions of his policy efforts in the three years to come.

First and foremost, President Ma said, efforts will be directed toward Taiwan's economic reconstruction. Billions of dollars have been earmarked for projects to get Taiwan out of its current economic doldrums.

Improvement of Taiwan-China relations follow. "We shall bring peace to the Taiwan Strait," he said. "Safeguarding sovereignty," he added, "isn't by word of mouth but by action."

One such action is Taiwan's presence at the WHA meeting in Geneva.

Closely related to those efforts are Taiwan's pragmatic diplomacy. "We shall do what we can to get Taiwan back to the international community as a responsible member," President Ma stressed.

Still another direction of efforts is toward the development of green energy industries, President Ma went on. "We'll reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save energy to help achieve Taiwan's sustained development," he added.

Efforts will also be concentrated on the expansion of the social welfare net to help the disadvantaged minority of society. Ma promised to improve medical care and public health service for all.

Last but not least, Taiwan will have a clean and capable government, President Ma said. Government corruption will be stamped out, he added, while the administration has to be improved.

"As we redouble our efforts," President Ma said, "we are certain Taiwan will move out of the valley of economic misery step by step in the foreseeable future."