Ma Ying jeou has been sworn in as Taiwan's new President. Jeou took office, two months after defeating the pro-independence incumbent Chen Shui-bian with a promise to improve the ties with China and establish the direct air links for the first time in almost 60 years.

Legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng handed the presidential seal to Ma at 89 year old presidential compound in Taipei today (May 20, 2008). Hundreds of guests watched and applauded the ceremony from the Taipei Arena, where Ma will deliver the inauguration speech. The new President will now need to live up to his nickname - Ma Shang or 'immediate action'. He would need to maintain a continuous momentum with China, which claims sovereignty over the island. Chinese President Hu Jintao invited the chairman of Ma's Kuomintang to Beijing next week for the first meeting between leaders of the two ruling parties.

According to Liu Bih-rong who is a political science professor at Soochow University in Taipei, Ma doesn't have any time to rest before taking office because Taiwan's people want to see results immediately. People will need to see that Ma fulfils all the promises he made, such as allowing weekend charter flights, Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan and partial transactions of the Chinese yuan from the month of July.

Ma and Vice President Vincent Siew will travel to Kaohsiung for a celebration dinner and fireworks, a move which is mainly aimed at gaining majority of southern Taiwanese who favor greater Independence from China.