ROC President Ma Ying-jeou said June 10 that the upcoming visit of a ruling Kuomintang delegation to mainland China will play a significant role in furthering cross-strait ties.
“The trip is of paramount importance as it is the first KMT visit to mainland China after the change of leadership in the Chinese Communist Party,” Ma said. “Both sides are set to review cross-strait exchanges over the past five years and discuss opportunities for future development.”
The president made the remarks while receiving the delegation headed by KMT Honorary Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung. Scheduled to meet with mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his June 13-14 visit to Beijing, Wu’s fellow group members are KMT Vice Chairpersons Chan Chuen-po, Hung Hsiu-chu and Huang Ming-hui, as well as Su Chi, former secretary-general of the ROC National Security Council.
Ma praised Wu for meeting former mainland Chinese leader Hu Jintao some 10 days after he took office in May 2008, describing the visit as setting the tone for cross-strait relations.
“Since I took office, the ROC government has adopted the pragmatic approach of maintaining the cross-strait status quo based on the principles of no unification, no independence and no use of force, as well as the ROC Constitution and 1992 consensus,” Ma said.
“These guidelines are a cornerstone for furthering bilateral relations and helped Taiwan and mainland China achieve their most stable and peaceful ties in six decades.”
This healthy state of affairs is illustrated by Taipei and Beijing concluding a total of 18 agreements and two consensuses, including the landmark Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), Ma said.
With talks on a trade goods and services agreement nearly completed, the president said these developments will further cement cross-strait relations as they serve as the basis of economic and trade laws between the two sides. The ROC government will also conduct an overall review of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, he added.
On setting up representative offices between Taipei-based Strait Exchange Foundation and Beijing-headquartered Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, Ma said the issue is politically sensitive but his administration is driving the development forward as it will benefit the people of both sides.
“Cross-strait ties are not state-to-state relations, so we will not treat these representative offices as diplomatic missions,” Ma said. “There will be detailed regulations on issues such as identity and protection of all office personnel, travel documents application, and the notification and visiting system in cases of detainment by mainland Chinese authorities.”
According to Ma, consolidation and expansion of cross-strait exchanges is important, explaining why the ROC government is committed to boosting two-way exchanges. Such efforts include increasing the number of full-time and exchange mainland Chinese students, and launching later this year 24-month undergrad degree programs for junior college graduates from the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong.
Improved Taipei-Beijing ties are in the national interests, Ma said, adding that cross-strait and international relations should be about mutual assistance rather than confrontation.
U.S. President Barack Obama said during a meeting with Xi in California that his administration strongly supports improved cross-strait ties over the last few years and hopes the process will continue in a way acceptable to both sides, according to Ma.
Such remarks are of great significance as they demonstrate Washington views improved cross-strait ties as a development in the interests of Taiwan, mainland China and the U.S., he added.
“Cross-strait relations have been advancing in a stable and peaceful manner, but we need new prospects, visions and motivation to achieve sustainable peace and prosperity.” (RC-JSM)
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