Former KMT President of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) visited the resting place of another former Taiwan President, Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), in the early morning of election day, January 13. That date also marks the 36th anniversary of Chiang’s passing in 1988. 

According to media reports, Ma only said he went to commemorate the memory of Chiang, and otherwise remained silent through his visit to the Touliao Mausoleum in Taoyuan. Ma showed respect by bowing three times, laying a wreath on Chiang’s coffin, and observing five minutes of silence. 

Ma made waves in the press and the election earlier in the week after giving an interview with the German news outlet Deutsche Welle (DW). Ma made a number of controversial comments during that interview, most notably that Taiwan must “trust” Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in cross-strait negotiations.

Chiang Ching-kuo was the third president of the ROC in Taiwan who ruled from 1978 to 1988, during the authoritarian period of KMT control. He is the son of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).