Taiwan's interests upheld in World Games: president

According to Ma, the fact that he presided over the opening ceremony of the international sports event in his capacity as president of the Republic of China is “something Taiwan could not have achieved in the past.”

“But now we have done it because our policy (toward China) enables us to improve cross-Taiwan Strait relations and at the same time uphold Taiwan's interests,” Ma said at a rally held in Nantou County as part of his campaign for the chairmanship of the ruling Kuomintang.

He said the success of the World Games has proven the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wrong in its repeated accusation that his administration is “selling Taiwan out.”

“We have never sold Taiwan out. We hope to communicate and reach a consensus with the opposition so as to make Taiwan more united,” he said.

Ma noted that he has tried many times to establish dialogue with the DPP by proposing to meet with the party's chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen, but that his proposal has been rejected by Tsai on each occasion.

Describing his administration's policy to open Taiwan to Chinese tourists as a success, Ma said almost all of the 360,000 Chinese sightseers to Taiwan since July 2008 have visited Sun Moon Lake, thus creating great business and employment opportunities for local residents.

Many yacht charter companies there are purchasing new boats and several hotels are currently being built to cater to the influx of tourists, Ma said. He expressed confidence that the tourism industry in Nantou County will improve even more in the future.

According to Ma, with the continued increase in the number of Chinese tourists, total arrivals are expected to top 600,000 by the end of the year.

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