President Ma Ying-jeou is calling for an end to political fighting and the demonization of China. Ma was speaking with Taiwanese media on Thursday in El Salvador.
The president said political fighting has hurt Taiwan’s economy, and he expressed concerns about the problem.
"The pointless procrastination and politicians’ exchanges of verbal attacks have ruined Taiwan’s opportunities," said Ma.
"We will not be able to keep up with others in the future. We have already lagged far behind other countries but we are still engaging in political fighting. It’s Taiwan’s economy, not the [ruling] Kuomintang’s, that will be destroyed," he said.
The president also said demonizing China does no good for Taiwan. He said from the perspective of international trade, China is just a member of the World Trade Organization.
“Does Taiwan still want to develop trade ties with the world’s second largest economy? I think it will eventually dawn on us that demonizing cross-strait ties and China will backfire on us," said Ma.
"I have never ever said that we should sing in China’s praise, but there is no need to demonize it. I think we should be level-headed and make a sensible decision," he said.