We ‘can never win’ a war: Taiwan’s former president Ma on the best way to deal with China | DW News

As Taiwan prepares for a knife-edge election, former president Ma Ying-jeou has made a dramatic call for a rethink of Taiwan’s whole approach to the threat of Chinese invasion. In this exclusive DW interview, Ma said attempts to deter China from attacking Taiwan would not work. “No matter how much you defend yourself, you can never fight a war with the mainland. You can never win. They’re too large, much stronger than us.” Ma also cast doubt on whether the United States would come to Taiwan’s aid if China invaded – despite US President Joe Biden repeatedly saying he would do so. Ma added that he believed Taiwan could work with China’s President Xi Jinping and said that “we have to” trust Xi on relations across the Taiwan Strait. Ma called for a return to his friendly approach to China as president from 2008-16. “We should use a non-use of military means to reduce the tension,” he said. Speaking to DW’s Richard Walker and Tsou Tzung-han, Ma blamed Taiwan’s current DPP government for the intense tensions with China. He added that in the long term, “unification” of Taiwan with China might be possible – but only if achieved peacefully and democratically.