Ma Ying-jeou

“Many in Taiwan believe that Hu Jintao is much more sophisticated than his predecessors in understanding Taiwan. He represents a different generation of leaders, more pragmatic, less ideological.”

“I am Taiwanese as well as Chinese.”

“I require every Taipei student to swim; if they can't pass the test they won't graduate. Why do I do that? Because I think that is very, very important integral part of their education.”

“It's very important for Taiwan to maintain its international contact.”

“With Taiwan, it took about 40 years to go from an authoritarian to a democratic society.”

“People like to see honest persons. So I certainly will advise many young people who want to participate in politics, honesty is the best policy.”

“Be honest. Be honest with yourself, be honest with, you know, your fellow politicians. This is a rare quality of politicians.”