Taiwan

Hu meets with KMT honorary chairman

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-10 22:39

BEIJING -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee General Secretary Hu Jintao met with Wu Poh-Hsiung, honorary chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) Party, in Beijing on Tuesday.

Wu was in Beijing after attending the seventh Cross-Straits Economic, Trade and Culture Forum, which closed on Sunday in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Hu said the past three years have witnessed a slew of breakthroughs and historic changes in cross-Straits ties, following a meeting between Hu and Wu in May 2008 in which both sides agreed to usher in a new era of peaceful development in cross-Straits relations.

Cross-Straits negotiations have continued and systematic arrangements for cross-Straits exchanges have been made over the past three years, Hu said. He also listed the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and the expansion of people-to-people exchanges as examples of cooperation between the two sides.

Hu stressed that both sides should cement their political foundations and expand consultations in order to create more favorable conditions for the development of cross-Straits ties.

Hu said that both parties should continue their efforts to oppose secessionists seeking "Taiwanese independence" and stick to the 1992 Consensus, wherein both sides of the Taiwan Strait adhere to the one-China principle.

Furthermore, both sides should continue to build mutual trust and properly handle problems that are likely to surface in cross-Strait relations, Hu said.

Hu also called on both sides to make greater efforts toward the implementation of the ECFA, signed by both sides in June of last year, and to actively engage in timely follow-up discussions regarding investment security.

Hu also urged efforts to ensure that people from both sides benefit from cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation.