Ma Ying-jeou, who won the Taiwan leadership election on Saturday, pledged on Sunday not to seek "de jure independence" of the island during his tenure.

Ma said that he would shovel political differences and support the continued operation of the Association for the Relations across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) on the Chinese mainland and The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) in Taiwan.

According to local media reports, Ma said he would work to open the island to the Chinese mainland tourists and address the issue of allowing Taiwan enterprises to "move forward" to the Chinese mainland.

Taipei zoo is ready to accept the giant panda presented by the Chinese mainland, Ma said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2008)