TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Former President Ma Ying-jeou will lead a delegation of young scholars from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation's Dajiu Academy to visit Guangdong, Shaanxi, and Beijing in China from April 1 to 11, the foundation announced in a press conference Monday (March 25) morning.
This visit marks Ma's second trip to China since he visited Hunan for ancestral worship last year from March 27 to April 7. This year's itinerary includes an additional visit to Beijing. The highlight will be attending the ceremony honoring the Yellow Emperor.
The delegation includes Ma, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen, former Presidential Office director Wang Kuang-tzu, National Chengchi University professor Chiu Kun-shuan, and 20 students from the Dajiu Academy.
Hsiao said that Ma's visit to the mainland last year with Dajiu Academy students positively impacted cross-strait relations and showcased the vitality of Taiwanese youth to mainland residents. He also noted that last July, the foundation invited students and teachers from five mainland universities, including Peking University and Tsinghua University, to Taiwan to deepen their understanding of the island.
Hsiao emphasized the importance and effectiveness of youth exchanges between the two sides, believing that more contact leads to deeper friendship and reduces the likelihood of conflict.
During Ma's visit to China last year, the Democratic Progressive Party criticized him for promoting political narratives such as the "1992 Consensus" and "One China" in China without any response to the CCP's military threats. Instead, he echoed the CCP's united front discourse, which was seen as sending the wrong message internationally.