Ma Ying-jeou is sworn in as new Taiwanese president

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST 1. Convoy arriving at presidential office 2. Outgoing president Chen Shui-bian (on left) and new president Ma Ying-jeou (on right) walking behind honour guard 3. Wide of swearing-in ceremony 4. Cutaway of musical band 5. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Ma Ying-jeou, President of Taiwan: "I do solemnly and sincerely swear before the people of the whole country that I will observe the constitution, faithfully perform my duties, promote the welfare of the people, safeguard the security of the state, and will in no way betray the people's trust. Should I break my oath, I shall be willing to submit myself to severe punishment by the state. This is Ma Ying-jeou's solemn oath taken on May 20 2008." 6. Cutaway of vice president Vincent Siew flanked by wife, Chu Shu-Hsien (on left), and first lady, Christine Chow (on right) 7. Wide of ceremony 8. Legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (on right) handing seal to Ma Ying-jeou 9. Cutaway to Chen Shui-bian and outgoing vice president Annette Lu applauding 10. Ma accepting seal 11. Cutaway of Chu, Siew, and first lady, Christine Chow applauding 12. Chen and Lu leaving ceremony 13. Zoom out of Chen waving to crowd then getting into car 14. Ma and Siew being greeted by presidential office staff 15. Top shot of Ma and Siew walking along the hallway 16. Wide exterior of presidential office STORYLINE Nationalist Party leader Ma Ying-jeou took office as Taiwan's president on Tuesday, promising to seek greater economic cooperation with rival China and ease nearly six decades of tensions. The inauguration of the 57-year-old Ma represents a clear break from the eight-year presidency of Chen Shui-bian, whose confrontational pro-independence policies often led to friction with Beijing - and with the United States, Taiwan's most important foreign partner. Vice president Vincent Siew, 69, was sworn in shortly after Ma, together with Premier Liu Chao-shiuan and his Cabinet. In contrast to the independence bent of Chen's Democratic Progressive Party, Ma's Nationalists have never formally renounced a desire for eventual unification with China, from which Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. Fifty-nine years after their split, China still claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and has repeatedly threatened to attack if the island makes its de facto independence permanent. In a break with his party's old guard, the 57-year-old Ma has vowed not to negotiate with Beijing about unification during his term of office, which can stretch to 2016, assuming he is re-elected to a second four-year term. Last week in an interview with The Associated Press, Ma raised the bar even higher, saying it was highly unlikely that unification talks would be held "within our lifetimes." Rather than politics, Ma's major emphasis has been seeking to tie Taiwan's powerful but laggard high-tech economy more closely to China's white-hot economic boom. He has proposed beginning direct commercial flights across the 100-mile (160 kilometre) wide Taiwan Strait and opening Taiwan's doors to a massive influx of Chinese tourists. He has also promised to work toward a peace treaty with Beijing, but has kept its prospective contents close to his chest. One of Ma's major considerations appears to be the widespread Taiwanese bias in favour of more commercial deals with China, as long as they don't pave the way for formal political union. While Beijing has abandoned communism in all but name, it remains an authoritarian state, whose lack of political freedoms trouble Taiwanese, now well into their second decade of a freewheeling democracy. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/87332c67841005c1d67ec79cc36686d8 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork