Taiwan's new president took office Tuesday and set the tone for his administration's policy on rival China: better economic and political ties but no plans for unification with the mainland, according to reports monitored by the Daily Observer.

The inauguration of Ma Ying-jeou, 57, represents a clear break from the pro-independence policies of the eight-year presidency of Chen Shui-bian.

The vice-president  Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy was attending President Ma's inaugural ceremony ceremony on behalf of President Jammeh. She was accompanied to the island by secretaries of state and senior government officials.

Addressing political leaders and representatives from Taiwan's dwindling cadre of diplomatic allies, Ma exhorted Beijing to seize the chance created by his March election victory to build a better future for people on both sides of the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait. "(I) hope that the two sides can use this rare historical opportunity," he said. "Let's open a new page of peace and prosperity."

Ma made it clear that even while he renounces the platform of formal independence espoused by his predecessor, he also opposes unification anytime soon with the mainland, from which Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. "We will adopt the principle of no independence, no unification and no use of force," he said.

China still claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has repeatedly threatened to attack if the island makes its de facto independence permanent.

Ma's comments in his inaugural address were consistent with his long-standing policies of seeking greater economic engagement with Beijing without renouncing Taiwan's effective sovereignty.

Ma's election victory was fashioned on his pledges to tie Taiwan's powerful but laggard high-tech economy to China's economic boom.

In recent weeks, however, he has made clear he has no intention of giving up on Taiwan's sovereignty - the core goal of China's policy toward the island. And in late April, he named a strong supporter of Taiwanese sovereignty to oversee relations with China, in a move that elicited silence from the mainland and anger from China-friendly hard-liners in his own Nationalist Party.

"What matters is not sovereignty, but core values and way of life," he said Tuesday. "We ... hope that mainland China will continue to move toward freedom, democracy and prosperity for all the people."

While Beijing has abandoned communism in all but name, it remains an authoritarian state, whose lack of political freedoms trouble Taiwanese, now well into their second decade of a freewheeling democracy.

Ma also urged Beijing to seek reconciliation with Taiwan in "the international arena" - a clear reference to the often costly competition to win diplomatic recognition from countries around the world. "In light of our common Chinese heritage, people on both sides should do their utmost to jointly contribute to the international community without engaging in vicious competition and the waste of resources," he said.

Yen Chen-sheng, a political analyst with Taipei's Institute for International Relations, said Ma's speech may irritate China because it ruled out early talks on unification.

"Beijing may not be too pleased," he said. "But it may accept (the speech) because Ma did not overstep the bottom line of independence."