Interest, identity, and people’s preference on the independence issue in Taiwan

After gaining more than 57 percent of the vote, President Ma Ying-jeou took

office in May 2008 and cross-Strait tension declined significantly. President Ma

took a rappro chement attitude toward mainland China, and adopted the three-nos

policy, i.e. “no unification, no independence, and no use of military force,” and

made China believe he would maintain the cross-Strait status quo. The Ma

administration also seeks to have close economic relations with the mainland.