By Ralph Jennings
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's new president took office onTuesday with a historic offer to reopen dialogue with China,which claims the island as its territory, but pledged tomaintain Taipei's existing self-rule and separate internationalprofile.
Ma Ying-jeou, 57, the Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate anda former Taipei mayor, took over from Chen Shui-bian of therival Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), beginning a four-yearterm after his landslide win in March.
Chen and Ma shook hands and then walked to the presidentialoffice for the official handover, with a portrait of SunYat-sen, founder of modern China, and Taiwan's flag in thebackground.
China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, whenMao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war and ChiangKai-shek's KMT forces fled to the island. Beijing has vowed tobring Taiwan under its control, by force if necessary, if itdeclares independence.
The two sides have not talked since the 1990s.
"The normalisation of economic and cultural relations isthe first step to a win-win solution," Ma said in his inauguralspeech at a packed arena, with 540 foreign dignitariesattending. "Accordingly, we are ready to resume consultations."
But in his speech, unseen on Chinese state-run TV, Mapledged neither to seek independence nor unify with China.
"Taiwan doesn't just want security and prosperity," hesaid. "It wants dignity. Only when Taiwan is no longer beingisolated in the international arena can cross-Strait relationsmove forward with confidence."
China opposes Taiwan membership in the United Nations andother bodies that require statehood to join.
Ma said he would strengthen ties with Taiwan's major ally,the United States, and "cherish" relations with its existing 23diplomatic allies, which Taiwan uses to push its agenda ininternational organisations dominated by China and its roughly170 partners.
Taiwan's ties with Washington and Beijing have frayed underChen's hardline pro-independence policies since 2000.
"Ma Ying-jeou has a mandate to improve relations withChina," said Alexander Huang, professor of strategic studies atTamkang University in Taiwan. "He's going to use that mandateto change course from over the past eight years."
AMBITIOUS PROMISES
But analysts also warn that Ma's ambitious promises couldfall through in the face of tough China negotiators.
Challenges at home began on Tuesday with a 250-strongprotest in Taipei by 10 organisations that raised an oppositionflag and urged Ma's government not to make Taiwan "a slave ofChina".
Ma campaigned for the presidency on a platform focused onbreathing new life into Taiwan's economy and pushing Beijingfor trade ties, direct transit links and a peace accord.
"He should be good for Taiwan. He can get stuff done," saidHsieh Nai-kao, 60, of Taipei, reacting to the inauguration."But he makes pledges too fast. You don't want to be toonaive."
Some Taiwan citizens are just waiting.
"It's too early to say how well Ma will do, so we'll haveto see after some period, maybe three months," said NationalTaiwan University student Tang Bang-yun, 20.
Ma has pledged to launch direct weekend flights to China byJuly and initially to admit up to 3,000 Chinese tourists daily.Flights would axe time-consuming stopovers in Hong Kong orMacau for Taiwan investors in China and ease the passage fortourists.
Taiwan stocks rose 5.3 percent over the past five sessionsbefore Tuesday, and the Taiwan dollar rallied in the daysbefore the inauguration.
Ma has vowed to make the Chinese yuan convertible with theTaiwan dollar, let Chinese buy Taiwan real estate and push fora common market.
As long as Taiwan does not "emphasise independence", Chinaand Taiwan can talk in depth, said Zhang Jianping of theInstitute for International Economic Research under China'sNational Development and Reform Commission.
Ma also promised clean government and ethnic unity inTaiwan.
Chen's family, aides and vice president have been hit bygraft charges. On Tuesday prosecutors asked the government tonotify them if Chen leaves the island before they finish acorruption investigation against him.
(Additional reporting Shen Yan in Taipei, Jason Subler inBeijing and Edmund Klamann in Shanghai; Editing by JeremyLaurence and Roger Crabb)
