Opposition reaches out to China

All the best: Supporters gathering outside the airport to welcome Ma on his visit to China in Taoyuan, Taiwan. — Reuters

TAOYUAN: Former Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou left for China on a landmark trip, saying he hoped to bring about peace and improve relations through the interactions of young people.

Ma, in office from 2008-2016, will be the first former or current Taiwanese president to visit China since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 at the end of a civil war with the Communists, where it remains to this day.