Critics from the Democratic Progressive Party accused Ma of trashing the country's culture while kowtowing to China.

But the Presidential Office clarified that Ma only meant to urge people from China to learn the traditional Chinese characters used in Taiwan.

Ma on Tuesday pointed out that the traditional characters in use in Taiwan are representative of the Chinese culture, but the simplified version is the standard in China.

Ma proposed a formula to better understanding between the people from both sides -- "know the traditional and the write the simplified," according to the Central News Agency.

He was cited by the CNA as expressing hope that Taiwan and China can reach an agreement on this formula in future negotiations.

China simplified the Chinese characters that had been in use for centuries -- and are still in use in Taiwan, Hong Kong and many other Chinese communities around the world -- in order to make it easier to learn the words and improve the nation's literacy.

People from Taiwan and China may need to learn the other side's writing system before they can recognize their characters.

Ma's remarks, made during a meeting with overseas Chinese, were widely taken to mean that he was leading the nation towards abandoning the traditional system for the simplified version.

"President Ma, as head of the state, should have been highly sensitive and cautious about the nation's cultural autonomy," said DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang.

"But he is following the lead of China to promote simplified Chinese. He is trashing the nation's cultural integrity," he said.

He described a campaign to change the writing system as a "stupid move" that would incite objection from the people.

DPP Legislator Kuan Pi-ling said the traditional version is an advantage for Taiwan, questioning why the island should be abandoning the system when it is not unifying with China.

Even Legislator Kuo Shu-chun from the ruling Kuomintang said such a campaign would not succeed.

DPP lawmakers pressed Vice Education Minister Wu Tsai-shun to promise that it would not become a policy of his ministry to adopt the simplified version for teaching.

Wu said he had not been aware of any proposed changes, and the traditional version remains the medium for teaching, writing and reading at school.

A presidential spokesman, Tsai Chung-li, claimed that Ma was making the proposal to the 1.3 billion people in China, urging them to learn the traditional version while continuing using their simplified system.

Lai Hsing-yuan, chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council, dismissed the suggestion that Ma's call for the Chinese people to learn the traditional system was meant to help pave the way for students from China to study in Taiwan.