KMT Honorary Chairman Wu Meets CCP General-Secretary Hu

KMT Honorary Chairman Wu Meets CCP General-Secretary Hu

Source: KMT Cultural and Communications Committee

May 11, 2011

After the completion of the seventh Cross-Strait Economic, Trade, and Culture Forum held in Chengdu, KMT Honorary Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung yesterday, accompanied by a delegation, met with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General-Secretary Hu Jintao in Beijing. 

Chairman Wu stated that General-Secretary Hu said that the Mainland would expedite the study of the relevant issues regarding increasing the number of direct cross-Strait flights.  

As to cross-Strait cooperation on nuclear safety, General-Secretary Hu promised that the Mainland would affirmatively push for consultations between cross-Strait nuclear experts in order to come up with feasible cooperative projects. 

With respect to Taiwan’s participation in international affairs, Chairman Wu stressed that we tried hard to seek cross-Strait peace and actively strived for participation in international affairs, with remarkable progress in recent years.  Chairman Wu stated that we also hoped that the Mainland could understand various issues which we frequently brought up.

Chairman Wu emphasized that the main theme of the seventh Cross-Strait Economic, Trade, and Culture Forum was how to deepen cross-Strait cooperative relations, especially how to consolidate the subsequent tasks after the implementation of the ECFA, and the participants of the forum also discussed the contents of the Mainland’s “12th Five-Year Economic Plan” and the details of Taiwan’s “Golden Decade.”  Chairman Wu added that both sides of the Strait sought ways where their respective strengths could complement each other and cooperated to achieve a win-win situation.  Chairman Wu stated that 19 joint recommendations had been formulated during the forum and he believed that some of them would become concrete cross-Strait policies.

Chairman Wu went on to say that the cross-Strait participants also mentioned that the signing of cross-Strait agreement on investment guarantees should be completed as soon as possible, particularly the issue of personal safety of Taiwanese businessmen on the Mainland.   General-Secretary Hu said he hoped that individual Mainland tourists would be allowed to visit Taiwan by the end of June, and added that the Mainland would choose some pilot cities.  Chairman Wu said that he hoped that the Mainland would consider an increased number of pilot cities in order to expand cross-Strait exchanges and promote mutual understanding, and that Taiwan would take responsibility for maintaining the safety of Mainland tourists and enhancing the quality of tourism in Taiwan.

Chairman Wu also pointed out that the cross-Strait participants discussed the issue of nuclear safety during the forum because Taiwan and the Mainland were only separated by the 180-km-wide Taiwan Strait.  Chairman Wu added that the recent Japanese nuclear crisis had become a global focus, and both sides of the Strait should cooperate with each other on the issue of nuclear safety.  Responding to Chairman Wu’s remarks, General-Secretary Hu promised that the Mainland would affirmatively push for consultations between cross-Strait nuclear experts in order to come up with feasible cooperative projects.

Chairman Wu indicated that peaceful developments in cross-Strait relations had made progress, and the cross-Strait exchanges continued to expand along with the active cross-Strait consultations.  Chairman Wu added that the people across the Taiwan Strait coexisted harmoniously, which was an achievement not easily accomplished and should be cherished.  Neither side of the Strait wanted that to see such progress come to a halt or move backward, added Chairman Wu.  Chairman Wu said that both sides also hoped to consolidate the foundation of cross-Strait peaceful development, which was the “1992 Consensus.”  Chairman Wu told General-Secretary Hu that cross-Strait exchanges were built on two bridges, one was economic and trade cooperation, and the other was cultural exchanges.  Chairman Wu added that economic and trade cooperation was a hand-in-hand effort, cultural exchanges were a heart-to-heart effort, and both were important.

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