TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has not been invited to Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih’s (侯友宜) final campaign rally, reports said Thursday (Jan. 11).

The news followed the uproar over Ma’s comments in an interview with Deutsche Welle. He said that at least on cross-strait issues, one should believe Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平).

After the interview was posted online Wednesday (Jan. 10), and again at an international news conference Thursday, Hou distanced himself from Ma’s statement. He emphasized their different approaches and added he would not discuss unification during any talks with China if he was elected president.

The final KMT rally, scheduled for Friday (Jan. 12) evening in New Taipei City’s Banqiao District, will be attended by Hou, his running mate Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), Chair Eric Chu (朱立倫), former Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), former Kaohsiung City Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), and former National Taiwan University (NTU) President Kuang Chung-ming (管中閔), per UDN.

However, Ma did not feature on the list, even though his name had been mentioned on a previous occasion, the report said. The former president’s office said he had not been invited, and would therefore not appear at the rally.

KMT officials did not mention any connection to Ma’s controversial interview.