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A New Historical Opportunity
President Xi's speech will open a new chapter in the development of cross-Straits relations
By Li Qing  ·  2019-01-03  ·   Source: Web Exclusive

The first group of individual tourists who arrived in Taipei participate in a welcoming ceremony on June 18, 2011. On the same day, flights bringing tourists from the mainland across the Taiwan Straits set off (XINHUA)

A gathering to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the issuing of the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan was held in Beijing on January 2, with President Xi Jinping delivering a keynote speech.

Xi pointed out that Chinese don't fight Chinese and pledged "utmost sincerity and greatest efforts" for the prospect of peaceful reunification. He said, "Peaceful development of cross-Straits relations is the correct road to maintaining cross-Straits peace, promoting cross-Straits common development and benefiting compatriots on both sides of the Straits."

Mainland resident Zheng Jian, 81, who was born in Taiwan, posts a letter to his relatives in Taiwan at a ceremony marking the start of direct shipping and postal services across the Taiwan Straits at the Beijing Capital International Airport on December 15, 2008 (XINHUA)

He also called for efforts to deepen the integrated development across the Taiwan Straits to consolidate the foundation of peaceful reunification, adding that "Chinese people should help each other."

In the speech, he said Taiwan compatriots and their enterprises will enjoy the same treatment as those from the mainland, and the mainland will continue to share development opportunities with Taiwan compatriots. The speech is not only a declaration on the realization of peaceful reunification, but also a roadmap for promoting reunification in the new era, said Qi Taixuan, a scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Xi's speech is an important theoretical and practical innovation of the mainland's policy concerning the Taiwan question, which will be a basic guideline of its Taiwan policy in the new era, Qi said.

He added that at present, the mainland's Taiwan policy should be adjusted and developed in a timely manner against the backdrop of deepening reform and opening up and the new trend of Sino-U.S. relations.

An undersea pipeline connecting the mainland coastal province of Fujian to the island of Kinmen goes into operation on August 5, 2018, alleviating water shortages in Kinmen (XINHUA)

At the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress in 2017, the Two Centenary Goals and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation were formally defined. The cross-Straits reunification will be an inevitable requirement to reach these targets, Qi said.

"Every major development in cross-Straits relations requires innovation in theory and thoughts. If the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan in 1979 marked a milestone for the development of cross-Straits relations, Xi's speech at the event on January 2 will open a new chapter in the development of cross-Straits relations and create a new historical opportunity for national reunification," he said.

Koo Chen-fu (left), Chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation in Taiwan, holds talks on improving relations with Wang Daohan, President of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, in Singapore on April 27, 1993 (VCG)

On January 1, 1979, the National People's Congress Standing Committee issued the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan. It was considered a declaration of the mainland's policy for peaceful reunification.

It called for a halt to military confrontations and the promotion of visits, cross-Straits transportation, postal services, and economic and cultural exchanges.

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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