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Regional Voice: Are China, Taiwan preparing reconciliation?
The 81-second firm handshake between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou was not a sign of anxiety but a clear signal to the world that China is prepared for reconciliation
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he 81-second firm handshake between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou was not a sign of anxiety but a clear signal to the world that China is prepared for reconciliation.
Granted, many outstanding issues remain. For example, China remains reluctant to discuss territorial disputes in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.
Many outspoken pro-independence movements in Taiwan also continue to oppose engagement with China, which they view as a kind of submission.
Regardless, some diplomatic dialogue, restrained and limited though it may be, is better than no dialogue at all.
The fact that the two top leaders have decided to meet face to face after a 66-year impasse is itself an encouraging sign of progress, a far cry from the acrimony of the 1960s and 1970s.
The Xi-Ma meeting also reflected a gradual shift in China's attitude towards cross-strait relations.
Many synergies exist between China and Taiwan.
Since 1949, both sides have experienced their fair share of socio-political struggles, only to emerge all the stronger as two global economic powerhouses in their own right.
Indeed, in many respects, such as high-technology manufacturing and industrial investment, the two sides remain very much co-dependent.
It is no surprise that the air routes between Taipei and the cities of China's eastern seaboard are now among the most heavily travelled in the world.
This is testament not only to intimate business relations, but also familial ties between the Chinese and Taiwanese.
It would, thus, be a boon if diplomatic relations between China and Taiwan progressed to a sufficient extent as to permit both parties to fully capitalize on their cross-strait dynamics.
I am sure that each side has lessons in governance and economic policy that it can share with the other. Increased interaction would further provide the chance for social healing to take place.
As yet, no one is sure what exactly transpired in that closed-door meeting between the two leaders, but the crucial message is clear: In terms of realpolitik, and in the interests of conflict mitigation, China and Taiwan can and should work towards long-overdue closure.
Paul Chan Poh Hoi
The Straits Times/ANN/Singapore
As a woman from the mainland who married a Taiwan resident, I would like to express my sincere support for the meeting between top leaders Xi and Ma, held in Singapore on Nov. 7.
I hope that the peaceful and fruitful conversation can help both sides work together to collaborate more closely and make cross-Strait policies more open, benefiting the residents of both sides.
It has been two years since I moved to Taiwan. Everyday people around me are talking frequently about cross-Strait issues; consequently, I pay more attention to politics than when I was in the mainland because it now probably has something to do with me.
Eight years have passed since Ma took the oath of office. Through these years cross-Strait relationships have improved a lot, policies on various aspects have seen steady progress, and communications between the sides are also growing prosperously. An example is the policy that allows mainland residents to travel across the Taiwan Strait as individual tourists, which really makes it more convenient for many of my friends and relatives to travel to Taiwan.
Take Shanghai as an example, if it's not your first time to visit Taiwan, you can get a visa immediately on your original mainland travel permit for Taiwan residents at the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration Bureau. And on the other side, the processes of applying for the entry permit for Taiwan residents to come to the mainland are also simplified.
My husband used to apply for a new visa stamped on his Mainland Travel Permit (MTP) every time he needed to come back to the mainland, which takes three to five work days. Now the new policy issued this June allows Taiwan residents to travel freely to the mainland without the visa. It's huge progress and people are really benefiting from it.
While apart from the positive aspects, we still have many difficulties when faced with financial and trading problems, especially with legal procedures. One of my friends from the mainland planned to set up a limited company in Taiwan, involving a cross-Strait network platform. However he finally had to give up on it because of the complicated procedures and high taxes. Besides, if a Taiwan resident would like to purchase property in the mainland, it must be under the condition that he has already lived on the mainland over a year. Only then can he get the loan. Furthermore there are also various notarial procedures managed by both sides, so it adds more to the acquisition costs.
All in all, we hope that the political forces from both sides could strive for building a more peaceful environment to better serve the well-being of their residents, overcome the previous obstacles and difficulties, to formulate more policies to facilitate the daily lives of residents on both sides. This historic meeting is proof that such an endeavor takes place under the steady belief in the name of the whole Chinese nation.
Keylee Sun
Freelancer in Taiwan
China Daily/ANN/Beijing
