Ma Ying-jeou (Chinese: 馬英九; Pinyin: Mǎ Yīngjiǔ; born 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician, who served as Mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006, and served two consecutive terms as President of the Republic of China in 2008-2016.
Ma's style of governance as president has been described as pragmatic, though somewhat authoritarian1⠀2. His administration began a process of re-Sinicization, undoing what Chen Shui-bian had done previously, though his emphasis on the Taiwanese people's Chineseness backfired on many occasions, only highlighting differences between Taiwan and Mainland China. Regarding cross-strait relations, while he staunchly represented Taiwanese interests, he emphasized the common heritage of the two peoples across the strait, and he did not shy away from seeking closer economic ties with Mainland China. This allwoed him to improve relations with the People's Republic, who in turn allowed for direct commercial flights between China and Taiwan, for the ROC to gain observer status in UN specialised agencies such as the WHO under the name "Chinese Taipei", and for a meeting between President Ma and Xi Jinping to take place in November 2015.
His administration endured two major scandals, the first being ignited by the poor handling of the damages caused by Typhoon Morakot in 2009, the second by the ratification of a controversial trade agreement with Mainland China, named the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, which caused a drastic backlash and gave way to the student-led Sunflower Movement.
