A video made by Chinese media featuring former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) visiting the graves of his ancestors in China has exceeded 100 million views online. Ma says he thinks the high view count is a very positive development and reflects that people on both sides of the strait share the same feelings about family and country.
Ma has been traveling through China for personal reasons but has also brought a delegation of students from his educational foundation for multiple campus exchanges.
On the 11th day of Ma’s visit to China, he led his delegation to exchange with Fudan University students. Ma quoted poetry to express his thoughts on his visit to various parts of China, and gifted the students with bookmarks which bear his own poetry. He said he hopes the exchanges will allow young people on both sides of the Strait to understand and communicate with each other. He says that the greater contact and deeper friendship between the two sides, the lower the chance of cross-strait conflicts.