China is talking to Taiwan’s next leader, just not directly
Officials in Beijing want the island’s new president to be more like one from the past
AFTER 11 days in China, during which time he was granted an audience with Xi Jinping, its supreme leader, Ma Ying-jeou came back to Taiwan this month with a message. The island’s former president, posting on Facebook, wrote that Mr Xi had “extended an olive branch to us”. Mr Ma hoped that Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s next president, would “put the people first and respond pragmatically”.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “A meeting and a message”
From the April 20th 2024 edition
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