Assessing the Presidency of Ma Ying-jiu in Taiwan: Hopeful Beginning, Hopeless End?

Description

The years of the Ma Ying-jiu presidency in Taiwan were controversial from the beginning. When he came to power in 2008, Ma was considered the strongest and most popular KMT presidential candidate since Lee Teng-hui. However, his rapprochement towards China met with increasing resistance and by the time he stepped down in 2016, he enjoyed the lowest support rates of any incumbent president. What happened in between? This book undertakes a balanced empirical assessment of the achievements and failures of the Ma Ying-jiu era. Renowned Taiwan scholars analyse the changing political environment that shaped the Ma presidency, covering important topics such as Taiwan’s evolving nationalism and rising civil societal activism, cross-strait economic integration and migration, and the factors determining its ‘international space’. As the first comprehensive scholarly work on the Ma Ying-jiu presidency, this books is a must read for students and scholars of Taiwanese politics and society, cross-strait relations and East Asian politics in general. Cover Title Copyright Contents List of tables List of figures List of contributors Introduction: mapping the Ma Ying-jiu Era Part I Domestic Politics 1 The KMT’s China policy: gains and failures 2 The DPP’s China policy before and during the Ma Ying-jiu era 3 Taiwanese nationalism in the age of cross-Strait integration: predominance and pragmatism in the Ma Ying-jiu era 4 Economic interests or national sovereignty: public opinion on the cross-Strait dilemma during the Ma Ying-jiu era 5 The rise of civil society activism in the Ma Ying-jiu era: the genesis and outcomes of the Sunflower Movement 6 Desirability and accountability in the governance of immigration under the Ma administration Part II Cross-Strait Political Economy 7 Opportunities and pitfalls of cross-Strait economic integration during the Ma Ying-jiu era: Taiwan after the ECFA 8 Chinese investment in Taiwan in the Ma Ying-jiu era: the opportunities and the risks 9 The drift: industrial policy under President Ma 10 The political economy of the cross-Strait rapprochement: anatomy of a hegemonic project Part III International Relations 11 More international space for Taiwan or less? 12 Taiwan’s soft power and public diplomacy under Ma Ying-jiu 13 Cross-Strait détente? The evolution of the US-Taiwan-China triangle in the Ma Ying-jiu era 14 Managing territorial nationalism in the East and South China Seas: the Ma administration’s approach Index