A former official has unraveled the mystery about why a meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping never materialized.
In February of last year, the two sides had broached the possibility of arranging such a meeting during high-level talks in Nanjing. But the meeting never took place.
Former National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General King Pu-tsung, a close ally of the president, explained on Monday why the two never met.
“The reason why the Ma-Xi meeting did not take place was because President [Ma Ying-jeou] insisted on participating in his capacity as president," said King. "That was the first reason. Second, it would be better to hold the meeting during APEC as Ma would be the leader of an economic entity and it would not involve his official title. However, because China found the idea unacceptable, it did not materialize. Also, China was not happy about Ma’s insisting [on those conditions].”
King said that although the opposition has labeled the president as favoring China, he believes that the president can prove that’s not the case.