Hotline set to enhance mainland, Taiwan ties
Print Edition
TOP officials from China’s mainland and Taiwan have spoken for the first time using a newly inaugurated hotline, the latest effort to build trust between the two sides.
The link that went into service yesterday represents an upgrade in contact between the two by connecting the heads of the agencies responsible for their relations, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council and the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office.
Other hotlines connect the agencies’ deputy directors as well as the semi-official organizations that have negotiated a series of deals in the absence of formal ties.
The new service was among the few takeaways from a historic November summit in Singapore between President Xi Jinping and Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou. The one-day event marked the first meeting between leaders of the two sides since they split in 1949 after a civil war.
Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang told reporters in Beijing that the new hotline will ease communication on key issues and help enhance trust and understanding.
“We hope the two authorities will make efforts to maintain and promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations,” said Ma, who also referenced Beijing’s demand that Taiwan recognize it is a part of China.
Hostility between the sides has eased over the past two decades, especially under policies of Ma, who was elected Taiwan’s leader in 2008. Trade and travel links have been established, and the two economies are becoming increasingly intertwined.
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