[19] After landing at Singapore Changi Airport at 10:30 am, Ma headed to the Four Seasons Hotel briefly where he was greeted by members of the Taiwan Business Association before meeting Xi.

However, NetEase, which was carrying the CCTV feed, immediately switched to Phoenix Television to broadcast Ma's speech to the Chinese audience.

He reiterated Xi's four points to Ma, which are adhering to the 1992 Consensus, developing cross-strait peace, expanding the effects of the prosperity to more public segments and cooperatively pursuing the Chinese renaissance.

[29] Zhang added that Xi agreed to establish the cross-strait hotline that can help both sides communicate with each other, avoid miscalculation and also to deal during emergencies and important matters.

Ma told Xi that both sides should respect each other's value and way of life, and stating his five remarks, which are consolidating the 1992 Consensus, downgrading tension by solving problems peacefully and establishing cooperative efforts to revitalize the Chinese nation.

Xi received a ceramic Formosan blue magpie by Lee Kuo-chin (李國欽/李国钦 Lǐ Guóqīn) from Ma, meant to exemplify the uniqueness of Taiwan.

[37] During an international news conference prior to the meeting, President Ma said that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should continue to mitigate their animosity, avoid deviating from the right path and expand exchanges and cooperation.

[38] Foreign Minister David Lin said the Ma–Xi meeting will focus on cross-strait peace and stability without involving any political negotiations nor leading to any downgrading of Taiwan's status, but that it would be held under the principle of equality and dignity with proper courtesy.

[4] Presidential candidate and incumbent chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) (and eventually Ma's successor as president) Tsai Ing-wen called the proposed meeting a manipulation of the January elections and described the decision-making process as opaque.

[4][41] She added that the meeting has caused a wave of questions and public doubts as people have grown to mistrust the administration's plan for cross-strait relations.

New Power Party (NPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang accused Ma of attempting to burnish his legacy at the expense of changing the direction of national security policy, and trampling on Taiwan's democracy and sovereignty by bypassing the Legislative Yuan.

[45] Others such as a number of intellectuals and legal experts in Taiwan published articles calling on the Legislative Yuan to initiate impeachment proceedings against Ma, as they argue the handling of the meeting has violated the requirements of the due Constitutional procedures.

[46][47][48][49][50] On the summit day, hundreds of angry protesters walked along a three-kilometer route from the Ministry of Economic Affairs building to the Presidential Office, condemning Ma's warm exchange with many fearing that Taiwan's democracy is being excessively influenced by China.

[53] Chris Patten, the Conservative politician who became the last governor of Hong Kong, said that the meeting was clearly set up to confer advantage to the Kuomintang in the forthcoming presidential elections.

He however added that "peaceful reunification of the mainland and Taiwan remains unlikely, unless it takes place – as China continues to promise – on the basis of one country, two systems.

[2] Former National Security Council member Evan S. Medeiros credited the warming of relations that led to the meeting to U.S. President Barack Obama's "pivot to Asia.