“He is former Taiwan president, former Taiwan leader and a scholar,” said the Chinese daily in response to Ma’s office, which had criticised the daily for changing Ma’s title to “former Taiwan leader in an article.
In the statement published by Malaysiakini today, the leading Chinese daily in Malaysia said it was being flexible with Ma’s title after taking into consideration the political scenario of China and Taiwan, as well as its understanding of the “One China” policy.
“(We) did not wish to be contradictory to the policies of any party,” it said.
Sin Chew had secured an exclusive interview with Ma in Taipei prior to the latter’s four-day visit in Malaysia, beginning today.
The daily had referred to Ma as the “former Taiwan leader” in the resultant Nov 14 article, instead of “former Taiwan president” as it did in its Nov 12 and 13 articles.
Ma’s office had immediately issued a protest statement, saying that Ma would not entertain any more interviews with the daily.
Ma is slated to speak at the Southern University College in Johor Baru today and visit Penang tomorrow. On Thursday, he will speak at the World Chinese Economic Forum in Malacca.
He is in Malaysia to promote Chinese culture and explain the Taiwan Go-South policies.
Southern University College had also presented Ma as the “former Taiwan leader” in its poster but later amended it following a protest from Ma’s office.