Cross-Strait relations of China and Taiwan: analyzing legitimacy of Kuomintang’s policies 2008 – 2013

Abstract

The following research will take a closer look at the cross-Strait relations of mainland China and Taiwan starting from the 2008 (presidential and legislative) elections in Taiwan, when the Nationalist Party Kuomintang and their presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou came to power. During the course of the work the political actions and statements of the leaders of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Republic of China (ROC) and the representatives of the relevant institutions such as the Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) will be reviewed while cross-referencing information about the concurrent public opinion surveys on Taiwan. This will help understand the public’s response to the KMT policies and therefore to deduct if the policies can be called legitimate.