Ma won the 2008 Taiwanese presidential election on 22 March 2008 with 58% of the vote, ending eight years of DPP rule and becoming officially recognized as the sixth president of the Republic of China.

Ma's trip across the Pacific was via commercial flight and only chartered a smaller jet from the United States; he was accompanied by an 81-member delegation.

[7] Ma, in his inaugural address, laid out his promise in dealing with cross-strait relations that there would be "no reunification, no independence, and no war" (不統, 不獨, 不武) during his tenure as president.

[13][14][15] Protesters accused Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou "of making too many concessions and moving too fast in relaxing restrictions on trade and investment with China.

The two sides signed four agreements on 5 November, detailing the loosening of restrictions with regards to air, marine, and postal links as well as better regulations on food safety.

However, this is consistent with the previous convention in 2008, when KMT ex-politician Lien Chan met PRC leader Hu Jintao in Peru.

Lien did not call Hu Jintao "President," but instead used his title "General Secretary" as the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the top position in PRC government.

[24] On 26 September 2014, a student protester hurled the book Formosa Betrayed at Ma and hit the president, who was not hurt by the incident.

On 15 December 2008, Taiwan and the Chinese mainland resumed direct sea, air, and mail links, ending an almost six-decade-long ban between the two sides on such trips.

At the time, the high unemployment rate (~4.06% in July) and consumer price index[34] three months after Ma's inauguration were unprecedented, having not been seen in 28 years.

[35] The economic downturn caused about 2,000 companies in Taiwan to go bankrupt in the six months following Ma's inauguration, according to a governmental commercial office in Taipei.

Analysts also point out that, "during its first 100 days in office, the government has made a series of bold steps to deregulate economic Cross-Strait ties.

But as these policies coincided with the global downturn and foreign investors had already bought Taiwan stocks heavily before the election, betting on the reforms, the island's market has seen a sell-off worse than the regional average.

[41] Ma Ying-jeou registered as the sole candidate for the election of the KMT chairman on 25 June 2009 and won the next day with 93.87% of the vote.

[43] Ma, however, ruled out meeting his PRC counterpart Hu Jintao in a 14 July 2009 interview with Taiwan's Commercial Times newspaper.

"[47] Following pressure from the opposition, Ma took steps to publicly apologize for his government's failure to respond swiftly with rescue and recovery efforts.

Ma cancelled 2009's Double Ten Day national celebrations and his state visit to the Solomon Islands for the Third Taiwan-South Pacific summit.

[48][49] A probe was launched to investigate why government response was slow and inadequate, and vice foreign minister Andrew Hsia tendered his resignation to Ma's premier, Liu Chao-shiuan.

However, critics were convinced that Hsia's resignation was only to cover-up the fact that Ma gave the order to turn down foreign aid.