Ma message to Taiwan affairs chief

Everything possible must be done to avoid war and it is the responsibility of leaders from both sides to ensure peace, former Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou told a senior Chinese official yesterday.

Ma, who started his trip to the mainland on Monday, met Taiwan Affairs Office head Song Tao in Wuhan, stressing that maintaining the peaceful and stable development of relations is the "general mainstream view of Taiwanese society."

Ma, who ruled from 2008-2016, met President Xi Jinping late in 2015 shortly before current Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was elected. He is not scheduled to see Xi, but Ma's office has said he is open to whatever meetings China sets up.

Tsai rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwanese can decide their future.

Tuling Democratic Progressive Party has criticized Ma's trip, saying he should use the opportunity to tell Xi to stop China's almost daily military harassment of the island.