KMT Honorary Chairman Wu Meets CCP General-Secretary Hu

KMT Honorary Chairman Wu Meets CCP General-Secretary Hu

KMT Cultural and Communications Committee

July 12, 2010

KMT Honorary Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung and Chinese Communist Party General-Secretary Hu Jin-tao met in Beijing today, exchanging views on strengthening peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

Chairman Wu began his remarks by citing the progress made at the sixth Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Cultural Forum which was concluded on Sunday in Guangzhou, indicating that the forum was one of the major mechanisms of the KMT-CCP party-to-party platform.  Chairman Wu said, “All joint recommendations announced at each annual forum were valuable references for formulating policies for both sides across the Taiwan Strait.  In addition, exchanges between the top leaderships of the two parties were irreplaceable.  Therefore, I went to Beijing to have talks with General-Secretary Hu in my capacity as KMT Chairman last year.  This year I was entrusted by Chairman Ma Ying-jeou to come to Beijing in my capacity as KMT Honorary Chairman.  It is evident that both parties hold the KMT-CCP party-to-party platform in high regard.”

Chairman Wu quoted Chairman Ma’s remarks prior to his departure for the Mainland, “Both sides should face reality squarely, build up mutual trust, shelve differences and seek commonalities, so as to continue to create win-win situations.”  Chairman Wu added that only when the ruling parties on both sides of the Strait enhance mutual trust can the cross-Strait mechanism of institutionalized consultations move forward and bring benefits to the people.

Chairman Wu said that the signing of the cross-Strait ECFA marked a new stage for cross-Strait mutual benefits, win-win situations, and cross-Strait peace and stability.  Chairman Wu pointed out that it gained the support of Taiwan’s mainstream public opinion, and the applause of the international community, so he hoped that the ECFA would come into effect as early as possible after due process of law.  The KMT was confident and would insist on the right course of peaceful development in cross-Strait relations, added Chairman Wu.

Chairman Wu also recalled the historic turning points in cross-Strait relations over the past five years, beginning with the five points of consensus in a vision statement reached by Honorary Chairman Lien Chan and the CCP General-Secretary Hu Jin-tao in 2005.  Then Chairman Ma Ying-jeou decided to incorporate the five points of consensus into the KMT party platform.  In 2008, when the KMT returned to power, Chairman Wu had talks with General-Secretary Hu confirming that both sides should immediately resume institutionalized consultations.  At that time, Chairman Wu proposed that both sides should strengthen mutual trust, expand exchanges, deepen cooperation, and engage in active consultations in order to sustain a new era of peace and co-prosperity across the Strait.

Chairman Su further pointed out that Taiwan’s mainstream public opinion would support cross-Strait economic cooperation even more when the economic benefits of the ECFA emerged.  Chairman Wu stressed that economic and trade exchanges between the two sides was the current pivot for the development of cross-Strait relations.  At the same time, cultural and education exchanges were also important and both sides should promote Chinese culture and expand cultural and education exchanges, Chairman Wu added.

Chairman Wu said that cross-Strait relations would not necessarily always be  smooth, so both sides should preserve with utmost wisdom and patience the fundamental situation of peaceful development, which had not been won with ease.  It was, all the more so, the joint responsibility of both ruling parties.

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