Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou gave a speech in London last weekend that has shaken up the KMT line on China.

China must agree to discuss dismantling its missiles pointing at Taiwan before talks can be held, Kuomintang Chairman Ma Ying-jeou said in comments aired Saturday by Taiwan's ETTV Station.

Michael Turton has been covering the original comments and the backtracking since.

My question is: Was Ma just hoping to portray himself as a centrist to get elected President in 2008 or is he actually moving in that direction? As odd as it may seem, the idea that China should stop openly threatening the existance of Taiwan is a pretty controversial stance for a KMT politician.

A comment by David of Jujuflop on Michael's first post is worth repeating here:

Some of the statements that Ma has been making would be impossible for CSB to make without getting accused of trying to block talks with China (Ma has also said that PRC would have to admit to and apologise for Tiananmen before any talks about unification).

This is certainly an interesting situation and worth keeping an eye on.