Xi tells Taiwan compatriots: ‘We belong to one nation’
Print Edition
People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are of one family and share the same blood, a key factor in pushing forward understanding between the mainland and Taiwan, Party chief Xi Jinping said yesterday.
Though some problems concerning cross-Strait relations cannot be resolved immediately due to historical and practical reasons, it’s the close ties that help the two sides go forward hand in hand, Xi told visiting Kuomintang Honorary Chairman Lien Chan in Beijing.
Approaching each other and reunions are common wishes of people on both sides, Xi said, adding that “no power can separate us.”
Xi said the mainland respects the social system and lifestyle Taiwan people have chosen, and “we are willing to share the mainland’s development opportunities with Taiwan compatriots.”
Noting Taiwan’s unique history and social environment, Xi said “we completely understand how Taiwan compatriots feel.”
“Family affection will help heal past wounds and sincerity will help resolve existing problems,” Xi said. “It has never changed, and will never change that we belong to one nation.”
Xi went on: “Regarding the long-existing political differences across the Taiwan Strait, we are willing to hold consultations with the Taiwan side on an equal basis under the One-China principle and make reasonable arrangements. I believe that people on both sides have enough wisdom to figure out a solution.”
Xi called on both sides to consolidate the basis for adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing “Taiwan independence.”
“This basis is the anchor of cross-Strait relations. So long as both sides adhere to this basis, cross-Strait relations will head for a bright future. If it is breached, cross-Strait relations will return to the old situation of unrest.”
Relations between the mainland and Taiwan stalled when the Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan in 1949 after being defeated in a civil war.
Business and personnel exchanges resumed in the late 1980s, and in the early 1990s, the two sides started to engage with each other through the mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, and its Taiwan counterpart, the Straits Exchange Foundation.
Over the past five years, the two sides have improved their relations to an unprecedented degree. Chiefs of cross-Strait affairs from the mainland and Taiwan met formally for the first time since 1949 last week in Nanjing.
Xi also called on people from both sides to join hands in realizing the Chinese dream and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
He said the Chinese dream is closely linked to the future of Taiwan and should be shared by people from both sides.
He urged people from both sides to support each other regardless of their partisanship, class, religion and native region.
Lien said the reconciliatory dialogues between the Party and the Kuomintang in 2005 led to peaceful development across the Strait. He said both sides have embarked on the right course which should not, and cannot, be reversed.
The past year had witnessed mutual trust between the Party and Kuomintang as well as between people from both sides.
Both sides should adopt a pragmatic perspective and let Taiwan play an active and positive role during the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, he said.
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