Ma Yingjeo, mayor of Taipei City and Chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT), addressed a crowd of more than 300 in an open forum yesterday afternoon, sharing his vision for peace and prosperity across the Taiwan strait.

He is on a national tour to improve US-Taiwan relations and promote business opportunities in Taipei.

Ma spoke to a packed Emerson Hall room about the political tensions and economic ties between Taiwan and China and stressed that maintaining the status quo should be the top priority.

A popular figure in Taiwan and abroad—and regarded by many as the most likely Taiwanese presidential candidate in 2008—Ma attracted an audience from across New England.

“As a student here, he showed quite mature views about cross-strait relations,” said Ezra F. Vogel, emeritus Ford II research professor of the social sciences and former director of the Fairbank Center for East Asian Research. “His US tour has been very successful. He has the potential for making great strides in cross-strait relations.”

A graduate of Harvard Law School, Ma joked that he almost named his daughter Cambridge Ma “exactly 30 years ago” when he was studying here.

“It’s a pleasant home-coming for me,” he added.

Ma told the audience that democracy is not a precondition for him to visit mainland China, but he would like to build more consensus before deciding to visit.

“I’m a little bit surprised but pleased to hear that he said he didn’t lay down any preconditions for visiting the mainland,” said Guanglong Chen, a second-year student at the Kennedy School of Government. “I think it’s a very good indication that he’s willing to carry on the task [of reunification].”

In addition, Ma is an advocate for direct flights between Taiwan and China as a catalyst for improved communication.

Currently, planes flying between Taiwan and China are required to detour over Hong Kong, Ma said.

Other audience members asked about Ma’s position on Taiwan independence, his thoughts on Taiwanese cultural identity, and his comment on Academy Award winner of Best Director Ang Lee being the “pride of Asia.”

“He’s more candid than I thought,” said Yinliang He ’08. “I was also surprised that he tried to answer every single question and didn’t shun away from difficult questions.”

The forum was co-sponsored by the Taiwan Studies Workshop at the Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, the Asia Program of the Kennedy School of Government, and the New England Taiwanese Students Association.