麻豆APP

photo by Voice of America from

Top 10 Best Facts about Ma Ying-jeou

Ma Ying-jeou is one of the most famous politicians in Taiwan’s history. He has served as the president of Taiwan, the justice minister, the Mayor of Taipei, and the chairman of Kuomintang.

He was born on 13 July 1950 in British-occupied Hong Kong. Her parents had settled there after fleeing mainland China following the communist party victory in 1949.

His family later migrated and settled in Taiwan in 1951, where he grew up and studied law at National Taiwan University. He is married to Christine chow and together the couple has two daughters.

Here are the top 10 best facts about Ma Ying-jeou.

1. Ma Ying-jeou is a Trained Lawyer

photo by jamiweb from

Ma studied and graduated with a law degree from National Taiwan University in 1972. He later joined New York University Law School in the United States for further studies in 1974.

Mao graduated from the New York University Law School with a law degree in 1976. He later joined and received a master’s degree in law from Harvard Law School in 1981.

Before completing his doctorate, Ma worked as an associate for a Wall Street law firm in New York City and as a legal consultant for a major bank in Massachusetts.

2. He Joined Government in 1980

After returning to Taiwan from the United States in 1980, Ma joined the office of the president as the Deputy Director of the First Bureau and the President’s English interpreter.

He was later promoted to the chair of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission at the age of 38, becoming the youngest cabinet member in the Taiwan government.

Mao was appointed the Taiwanese Justice Minister by President Lee Teng-hui in 1993, a position he held for three years before he was relieved of his duties in 1996.

3. He was Taipei’s Mayor for 8 years

Photo by Rico Shen from

Ma Ying-jeou joined elective politics in 1998 when he contested and won Taipei’s mayoral elections. He contested on the KMT ticket against the incumbent Chen-Shui bian, seeking re-election on a Democratic Progressive Party ticket.

In 2002, Mao was easily re-elected with 64% support against his Democratic Progressive Party challenger who received 36% support. His solid victory despite opposition from the president cemented his position as a strong figure in Taiwanese politics.

During his time as Taipei’s mayor, Ma had many conflicts with the central government over matters such as health insurance rates and control of the water supply.

4. He was Nicknamed “Teflon pot”

When Ma was serving as the mayor of Taipei, he was nicknamed the “Teflon pot” for the extreme preservation of his personal image. In spite of that, he too was caught in some political controversies.

Typhoon Nari, which hit the Island in 2001, was among the big mishaps that happened during his tenure. He was accused of his office administration problems that worsened the situation.

Others were the hospital shutdown and the Human Ball Scandal, in which a severely beaten four-year-old girl was bounced from hospital to hospital without treatment until she died of her injuries. However, Ma was able to maneuver through all these incidents without big damage to his reputation.

5. Ma Ying-jeou became the Chairman of KMT in 2005

Photo Source:

Ma Ying-jeou’s political star started to rise following the KMT candidate’s loss in the 2004 presidential election. His impartial handling of post-election demonstrations earned him a lot of respect and support from KMT members.

In 2005, Ma became a leading contender for the KMT chairmanship, which he run against Wang Jin-ping in the first competitive election for the post. After the elections, Ma won with a 76% majority support.

Although Mao won the chairmanship of KMT he continued to serve as the mayor of Taipei stating publically that he had no plans to resign.

 6. He was Elected the President of Taiwan in 2008

photo by Office of the President, the Republic of China from

On March 22, 2008, Ma won a landslide victory in the presidential election, defeating Frank Hsieh of the governing DPP by a margin of 58 to 42 percent. He took office on 20 May 2008 becoming officially the sixth president of Taiwan.

Mao ran for re-election for the second term in the 2012 presidential election. He ran against the Democratic Progressive Party chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen, the first woman to contest in the country’s presidential elections.

He won the election with a 51.6% majority vote and was inaugurated as the president of Taiwan for another four years term. Mao retired from the presidency of Taiwan in 2016 after completing two terms of 8 years.

 7. Ma Ying-jeou Improved Taiwan’s relations with the Mainland China

After his election as the president of Taiwan in 2008, Ma Ying-jeou said he had no immediate plans to visit mainland China but would work to improve relations with mainland China,

Ma started direct charter flights which allowed mainland Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan with ease. He also lifted Taiwan’s legislative restrictions on the financial sector to invest in mainland China.

8. He Paid Homage to the Yellow Emperor

In April 2009, President Ma became the first ROC president to pay homage in person to the Yellow Emperor who is believed to have founded China as a nation more than 5,000 years ago.

He was accompanied by all his government officials and sang Taiwan’s national anthem as a gesture of showing his respects to the Yellow Emperor on National Tomb-Sweeping Day in person.

The Yellow Emperor Huangdi is a deity in Chinese religion and one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and cultural heroes.

9. He is Married with two Daughters

Photo by Voice of America from

Ma Ying-jeou and Christine Chow got married in New York in 1980 when he was still attending Harvard University for his master’s degree in law. Chow is also a trained lawyer who a master of law degree from New York University Law School.

The couple’s first daughter, Lesley, was born in 1981 in New York City. Their second daughter, Kelly, was born in Taiwan and is pursuing her undergraduate studies at Brown University in Rhode Island.

10. His Family Supports Charity Organisations

Ma Ying-jeou and his wife have been involved in various charity works during and after his active years in the office. One of his notable works is his partnership with the world vision organization to sponsor needy children from low-income families in El Salvador.

On an official trip to Central America in June 2009, his wife was able to meet with one of their sponsored children, an 11-year-old boy in San Salvador.