Ma Australian Visit -- more links

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Mr Ma, who will lead the Kuomintang (KMT, the Chinese nationalist party) into Taiwan's presidential elections in March 2008, is well aware of the Solomons problem. It has to be tackled at source, he told a lunch gathering at the Lowy Institute. "We have to develop a modus vivendi with the mainland on the international space," he said, asking why the place that makes 85 per cent of the world's laptop computers had to live with diplomatic recognition by just 25 small nations in the Pacific and Latin America.

Mr Ma will take the KMT on its comeback attempt - it ruled Taiwan for decades, until 2000 - on a platform of keeping the ambiguous status quo with Beijing.

President Chen Shui-bian cannot stand again after serving two terms, and his pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party is down in the polls.

Both Beijing and Washington would prefer a KMT president, since they fear Mr Chen and his DPP will try to nudge Taiwan towards formal independence if they spot a chance, risking a war between the two powers.

There is also an audiofile of a Ma interview online here:

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/

(Thanks to Nick and Dave posting in the comments of the previous thread on the visit)

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