Ma stressed that the two sides have developed under different systems for 66 years, with their relations going from military confrontation to cooperative exchanges based on the value of peace, which he said was “certainly not an overnight achievement”.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou began their talks smiling broadly and turning side-by-side so hundreds of reporters at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore could capture the moment.
That will likely not sit well with many in Taiwan.
To further develop ties between the two sides, Ma suggested that both of them should push each other and deepen a pragmatic strategy, reduce animosity across the Strait, develop dialogue and establish hotlines. Above all, if Xi goes on with a charm offensive to woo Taiwanese across the straits, for example, over an global standoff over the South China Sea, it would deal a blow to the U.S.-Japan effort to contain Beijing’s influence in general.
It may be years before the true significance of the meeting emerges, but it remains cause for rejoicing by Chinese everywhere to see the two leaders shake hands and set a precedent.
Such a close bond is “testimony to the 66-year history of cross-Strait relations, despite ordeals and long periods of isolation”, Xi said.
DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly said that she will maintain the status quo if elected president in January, but is likely to face pressure from pro-independent voices within her own party.
For Xi, the meeting may help Communist Party leaders in Beijing secure gains that have seen the country become Taiwan’s biggest trading partner.
Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists, known in Chinese as the Kuomintang (KMT), retreated to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the civil war to the Communists, who are still in charge in Beijing.
It was there that Xi said the two sides were “one family”. The agreement freezes the political situation of Taiwan in a convenient vague space for both Taiwan and China.
To such critics, Hsia said, “The Republic of China has absolutely not been tied down by the “one China” frame”. “No force can pull us apart, because we are brothers who are still connected by our flesh even if our bones are broken, and we are one family”.
The remarks between the two men were relayed to the crowd, with the Chinese leader speaking first by praising his Taiwanese counterpart for aiding in helping to mend the relations between the two governments and to restate China’s wish for eventual reunification of the two nations. There were also overnight demonstrations at Taiwan’s parliament building, and 27 people were arrested as protesters scuffled with police at the capital’s airport as MA departed. “(Ma) can not sell out and sacrifice Taiwan’s interests”, said Chao Tien-lin, director of the department of China affairs of the DPP.
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Beijing views self-ruled and proudly democratic Taiwan as a renegade province, to be bought under its control by force if necessary, and has warned that moves towards formal independence could stoke conflict. So basically, the two countries are on the opposite sides of the political spectrum.
