President Ma Ying-Jeou of Taiwan recently renewed his call on Beijing to set aside sovereignty disputes and re-open negotiations. President Ma, who took office last Tuesday, made the remarks at a tea gathering he organised for a group of senior Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials ahead of their visit to China on Monday.
Reports monitored by The Point further revealed that the KMT Chairman Wu Poh-Siung, who headed the delegation of 16 for the six-day visit, was invited by the Chinese President Hu Jintao.
President Ma asked that Wu share his ideas on cross-strait relations in his inauguration address with Hu
"Leaders on both sides (of the Taiwan Strait) should have foresight and keep cross-strait relations in perspective. (Both leaders should) set aside their disputes and prioritise the urgent and easy-to-resolve problems to move the cross-strait relationships forward," President Ma stated.
President Ma said his administration would like to resume negotiations with China based on the so-called "1992 consensus," which stipulates that both sides of the strait uphold the "one China principle," but have a different interpretation of what "one China" means. The "consensus," however, is not universally recognized as valid in Taiwan.
At the meeting, President Ma also expressed his wish to help survivors of the earthquake in the Sichuan region of China.
