Hu Jintao on Monday called for discussions with the Taiwan side to put a formal end to the state of hostility and reach a peace agreement under the condition of one-China principle.

He made the solemn appeal in a keynote speech at the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opening on Monday.

The following are major developments in relations between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan in the recent five years:

Oct. 11, 2007 - A spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council accused Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian of continuing to whip up support for his secessionist policy such as the "referendum" plan on the island's entry into the United Nations, saying his scheme of "Taiwan independence" is doomed to fail. Chen and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party had been promoting "referendum" and "Normal Country Resolution" in an attempt to split the island from China;

Sept. 21, 2007 - The Organization Committee for the Beijing Olympic Games announced the International Olympic Committee had canceled plans for the Olympic torch relay to pass through Taipei because the Taiwan side had closed the door of the discussion.

Sept. 6, 2007 - President Hu Jintao said the mainland side must issue harsher warnings to the Taiwan authorities that any separatist attempt in any form seeking 'Taiwan independence' will go in vain. The comment was made during the 15th Economic Leaders Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Sydney.

June 15, 2007 - First cross-Strait charter flight launched for the traditional Duanwu Festival; Charter flights had thus far been in service on all the four major Chinese traditional festivals, namely: the Chinese New Year, the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Duanwu Festival and the Qingming Festival;

Sept. 29, 2006 - The first cross-Straits charter flight for Mid-Autumn Festival took off;

Sept. 14, 2006 - First emergency direct flight flew from Guangzhou to Taipei, carrying a 71-year-old critically ill Taiwanese man;

April 14-15: 2006 - First forum on economic, trade and cultural affairs between the mainland and Taiwan; Hu Jintao met KMT Honorary Chairman Lien Chan during the forum;

Dec. 24, 2005 - Wang Daohan, a key figure from the mainland side in promoting relations with Taiwan, passed away in Shanghai at 90; he was known for holding the first ever high-level, non-governmental cross-Straits talks with Koo Chen-fu, chairman of the Taiwan-based Strait Exchange Foundation, in 1993;

July 6-13: 2005 - Taiwan's New Party delegation visited the mainland to commemorate the 60th anniversary of China's victory inthe war of resistance against Japanese aggression;

May 5 to 13, 2005 - James CY Soong, chairman of the People First Party (PFP) in Taiwan, visited the mainland; he was met by Hu Jintao;

April 26 to May 3, 2005 - Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan led a KMT delegation to the mainland, the first by a top KMT leader since 1949. The visit ended with the mainland's goodwill gestures to present a pair of giant pandas to Taiwan compatriots, remove a ban for mainland residents to travel to the island and open its market wider to fruits from Taiwan.

March 14, 2005 - China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), ratified the Anti-Secession Law with an overwhelming vote of 2,896 to nil, setting a legal framework to prevent Taiwan's secession from China and to promote peaceful national reunification.

March 4, 2005 - President Hu Jintao set forth a four- point guideline on cross-Straits relations under new circumstances -- first, never sway in adhering to the one-China principle; second, never give up efforts to seek peaceful reunification; third, never change the principle of placing hope on the Taiwan people; and fourth, never compromise in opposing secessionist activities aimed at "Taiwan independence."

Jan. 29, 2005 - Civil aircraft of the Chinese mainland and Taiwan took off from Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Taipei respectively, kicking off the first charter flights across the Taiwan Straits in 56 years. The three-week scheme offered 48 non-stop, round-trip flights exclusively for Taiwan business people working in the mainland and their families during the traditional Chinese New Year.

Jan. 3, 2005 - Koo Chen-fu, chairman of the Strait Exchange Foundation in Taiwan, died at the age of 89;

May 17, 2004 - The Taiwan Affairs Office under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council issued a statement on cross-Straits relations, urging the Taiwan authorities to recognize that there is only one China in the world and both the mainland and Taiwan belong to the one and same China, to abandon the "Taiwan Independence" stance and to stop separatist activities.

Jan. 26, 2003 - A Taiwanese China Airlines charter flight left Taipei for Shanghai, the first civil aviation flight from Taiwan to the mainland since 1949.

(Xinhua News Agency October 15, 2007)