XI MEETS TAIWAN’S MA IN BEIJING FOR HISTORIC TALKS
President tells the former KMT leader there is ‘no problem that cannot be talked through’ and that ‘foreign interference’ cannot stop ‘family reunion’
There is “no problem that cannot be talked through”, President Xi Jinping told Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing yesterday, in historic talks marking the first time the top mainland leadership had received a serving or former president of Taiwan.
War “would be unbearable”, responded Ma, who is close to wrapping up an 11-day “journey of peace” to the mainland following a landmark visit just over a year ago.
The pair last met in Singapore in November 2015, when Ma was in office, in the first cross-strait summit since the two sides split in 1949 following the civil war. The highlight of that meeting was an 80-second handshake ahead of closed-door talks.
In opening remarks in the presence of the press yesterday, both Xi and Ma sought to strike a conciliatory tone despite prolonged cross-strait tensions.
Referring to his guest as “Mr Ma”, Xi said: “Compatriots on the two sides are both Chinese. There is no grudge that cannot be resolved. No problem that cannot be talked through. And there are no forces that can separate us.”
Xi said differences in political systems could not change the fact that the two sides were one country. “Foreign interference” cannot stop the historic trend of a “family reunion”, he said, calling on both sides to seek “peaceful reunification”.
Ma responded with a message of peace, addressing the mainland leader as “General Secretary Xi” – in a reference to his title as leader of the ruling Communist Party.
“I sincerely hope that both sides can respect the values and ways of life of their peoples,” Ma said, adding that “recent tensions between the two sides … have triggered a sense of insecurity among the public in Taiwan.
“If there’s war, it would be unbearable to the Chinese nation, and the two sides of the [Taiwan] strait have the wisdom to handle their disputes peacefully.”
Zhu Songling, a Taiwan affairs specialist at Beijing Union University, said the meeting sent “an important message from Beijing, showing its determination to solve the Taiwan issue peacefully”.
It came at a “very favourable” time for both sides to “calmly and rationally convey accurate public opinions” and carry out crossstrait dialogue, Zhu said, with Taiwan about to get a new president and Washington also seeking warmer ties with Beijing.
Ma, a former leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang, ended his second and final term as president of the self-governed island in 2016. He remains influential among the opposition.
Arriving in Shenzhen on April 1, Ma visited several other cities including Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Xian before travelling to Beijing on Sunday. He also went to Zhongshan to visit the former residence of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China.
Beijing’s achievements should be shared by Taiwan as well, Xi told Ma, according to the Xinhua state news agency.
The mainland had “successfully embarked on a path of Chinese-style modernisation and ushered in the bright prospect of national rejuvenation”, Xinhua quoted Xi as saying. “This has not only realised the blueprint drawn up by Sun but also achieved things far beyond his imagination.”
In his use of the word “blueprint”, Xi was referring to Sun’s ambition to make China an “independent, democratic, prosperous and powerful country”, according to Beijing’s usual interpretation. Sun, founding father of the KMT, is also celebrated by Beijing for his role in overthrowing imperial rule.
Xi spoke of his high hopes for youth on either side of the strait. Young people on both sides had “great potential and will definitely make great achievements”, he told Ma, who has brought with him a group of Taiwanese students on a cultural exchange trip, just as he did during his visit in March and April last year.
Taiwanese youth were welcome to “pursue, build and realise their dreams” on the mainland, Xi said, urging both sides to create better opportunities for them to “grow, excel, and succeed”.
“I hope young people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will learn from each other, rely on each other, and walk together with one heart, relay the baton of history well, and contribute their youthful strength to the realisation of national rejuvenation,” he added.
Xi also expressed his condolences for the victims of the deadly earthquake in eastern Taiwan last Wednesday.
Ma’s visit comes amid soaring cross-strait tensions, with just over a month to go before William Lai Ching-te of the independence-leaning ruling DPP takes over as Taiwan’s president. Lai, vice-president in the current administration, has been labelled by Beijing as a “separatist” who could bring war to the island.
Heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait in recent years have rattled regional players and further complicated US-China relations, with Xi repeatedly warning US President Joe Biden that Taiwan represented a “red line” for Beijing and the “most sensitive issue” in its ties with Washington.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. The United States, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as independent, but is opposed to any attempt to take it by force and remains committed to supplying it with weapons.
Ma sent out an anti-war message on Monday as he visited a museum in Beijing commemorating the second Sino-Japanese war. The lessons of history must be learned to “resolve disputes peacefully”, he said.
Cross-strait relations warmed considerably when Ma was president of Taiwan between 2008 and 2016. His meeting with Xi in Singapore had come amid rising anti-mainland sentiment in Taiwan ahead of presidential elections in January 2016. That vote was won by the DPP’s Tsai Ingwen, who steps down in May after two terms.
Issues discussed by Xi and Ma in Singapore included the development of cross-strait relations and the “1992 consensus”.
The 1992 consensus refers to a tacit understanding reached between the Communist Party and KMT negotiators that there is only one China, but the two sides may disagree on what that means.
In 2015, Xi described his meeting with Ma as marking “a very special day, and a new chapter in history”. He said: “No matter whether it be rain or storm, no power can separate us. We are brothers, and I believe the two sides have the ability and wisdom to resolve our own problems.”
Ma said that “the meeting had a very friendly atmosphere. It was very positive”. He also spoke about his impression of Xi, as “very pragmatic, flexible and frank when discussing issues”.
A cross-strait hotline was set up following their summit as a confidence-building and tension-reducing measure. However, relations soured after Tsai came to office and refused to accept the 1992 consensus and Beijing has since suspended official exchanges with Taipei.
Compatriots on the two sides are both Chinese. There is no grudge that cannot be resolved PRESIDENT XI JINPING