According to a report by the Central News Agency, Ma Ying-jeou went to the ancestral tomb of Shuangyang Village, Chaensi Town, Xiangtan County, Xiangtan City, Hunan Province on Saturday to worship his ancestors. Standing in front of his ancestor’s grave with wet eyes and sobs, he said, “This is the first time in my life that I have come to mainland China to pay respects to my ancestors and visit my relatives. I am very touched. Your legacy taught our children to know how to love and strengthen ourselves, to be kind and help others, and to be dedicated to our duties.”
He also told his ancestors that he was elected president of the Republic of China twice in 1997 and 101.
Previously, when he visited the Nanjing Presidential Palace, he interacted with the media in the living room where the national flag of the Republic of China, the blue sky and white sun flag, and the portrait of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father, said: “I take this opportunity to introduce to my mainland friends that Mr. Sun Yat-sen is older than me. At the age of 98, I became the interim president of the Republic of China in 1912, and I also served this…uh…96 years in 2008.”
This remark attracted many critics in Taiwan, who believed that he did not dare to speak out terms such as “Republic of China” and “President” on the mainland.
After that, he suddenly changed his itinerary and visited the “Anti-epidemic Exhibition Hall” in Wuhan. During the period, he praised the CCP’s epidemic prevention as “a contribution to the entire human race.” This remark caused an uproar in the public opinion. Even netizens in mainland China asked him if he didn’t know how Dr. Li Wenliang died?
In addition to the controversy caused by Ma Ying-jeou’s remarks, his trip took place at the same time as Tsai Ing-wen’s stopover in the United States.
On Saturday night, Ma Ying-jeou met with Shen Xiaoming, secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee, at Jiusuo Hotel in Changsha, Hunan. Shen Xiaoming said that “Mr. Ma Ying-jeou” has received widespread attention during his trip, and he is an out-and-out “Internet celebrity”. This shows that Chinese traditional culture is the common spiritual home and common value pursuit of compatriots on both sides of the strait. I believe that “Mr. Ma”‘s ancestor worship trip must be supported by compatriots on both sides of the strait.
Interestingly, the next morning, when Ma Ying-jeou led students from Taiwan’s Dajiu Academy to Hunan University for a discussion with mainland students, his concluding remarks were blocked by the Beijing authorities.
Ma Ying-jeou said: “Our country revised its constitution in 1997. Our country is divided into two parts, one is the Taiwan region, and the other is the mainland region. Both are our Republic of China and both are China.”
Although this speech was blocked, many mainland netizens have learned of his speech. Some people said he was “playing tricks” and “playing with words”, while others thought what he said was true, “Open the skylight It’s far better to talk openly than to cover up.”