Ma, of the Kuomintang (KMT) party, won a second term as Taiwan’s president after four years of policies that have seen the most dramatic thaw in the island’s ties with China since the two sides split more than six decades ago.

“We are willing to join hands with Taiwan’s all walks of life on the basis of continuing to oppose ‘Taiwan independence’,” the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, or cabinet, said in a statement released late Saturday.

China considers Taiwan part of its sovereign territory and opposes any moves towards independence for the island.