Ethnic terminology bedevils Taiwan-China relations

On both sides of the Taiwan Strait this week, people have been observing the Qingming festival by sweeping the tombs of their ancestors. Many Taiwanese think it only natural that Ma Ying-jeou, their former president, used a trip to the mainland to visit his grandfather’s tomb in Hunan province for such a ceremony. But many object to the way that Mr Ma has also been waxing lyrical about the shared ancestry of Taiwanese and mainlanders. In Taiwan, supporters of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (his own party is the Kuomintang or KMT) say his words smack of support for unification.