Ma's move paves way to meet Hu

By Cui Xiaohuo (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-11 07:09

The prospects of the highest-level talks between the mainland and Taiwan for the first time since 1949 soared Wednesday with island leader Ma Ying-jeou set to become the chairman of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) within months.

Experts on cross-Straits studies sounded an upbeat note on a potential meeting between Ma and Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, given that current exchanges are limited to party-to-party talks.

At a joint press conference with incumbent KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung in Taipei Wednesday afternoon, Ma, who favors closer cross-Straits ties, announced he would run for a new term to head his party.

Wu has agreed to step down from the post. No one else is seeking the job, and no challenge is expected ahead of the July election. Ma is expected to assume the post on Sept 12.

Ma was elected KMT chairman in 2005, but resigned two years later when he was indicted on charges of corruption under the administration of former Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian, who had been pushing the island toward formal independence.

Although Ma has to visit Beijing in his capacity as KMT chairman and talk to Hu in his role as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, the unprecedented meeting will signal "great reconciliation" between the mainland and Taiwan, experts on both sides told China Daily Wednesday.

This political ambition was not realized during the era of former CPC leader Mao Zedong and KMT Chairman Chiang Kai-shek, said Li Jiaquan, former director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). In early 1975, Chiang secretly invited Mao to visit Taiwan and the latter accepted, according to declassified documents. But the plan failed to materialize with the death of Chiang in April that year.

"Whether history is made depends on political reconciliation on the island, which can be achieved," Li told China Daily following Ma's announcement, referring to secessionist forces' opposition to developing closer ties with the mainland.

Lin Shou-shan, a senior KMT member, said the meeting is "very likely to become reality" with Ma's announcement, which will help remove all "technical difficulties".

"Though there will still be political differences, the positions across the Straits are now crystal clear and reconciliation looks almost certain," Lin told China Daily from Taipei.

But some experts worry that Ma's "dual role" may make him more cautious.

"The dual role certainly offers him more control and flexibility in local politics, but it may also make him think twice before setting foot on the mainland," said Zhu Weidong, director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies at the CASS.

Kwok Tsun-kee, executive director and head of Taiwan Cooperation, Monte Jade Science and Technology Associate of Hong Kong, said Ma's position as Taiwan's leader may lead to possible "awkwardness" in KMT's exchanges with the mainland.

"He may not succeed in persuading Taiwan residents to let him visit the mainland," Kwok observed.

The high expectations come amid growing signs of warming relations.

On the eve of his bid for KMT chairmanship, Ma suggested that Taiwan may allow the use of simplified Chinese characters, widely used on the mainland but banned in Taiwan, in a move that may draw both sides closer culturally.

The mainland announced Wednesday that it plans to build an undersea telecommunications cable across the Taiwan Straits.

The construction of the fiber optic cable will improve telecom links across the Straits, Fan Liqing, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said. Fan also expressed hope for more active exchanges between the CPC and the KMT.

"The KMT and the Communist Party of China, via a party-to-party exchange mechanism, have in the past few years conducted many fruitful activities which stimulated the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations," she told reporters.

"We believe the exchange mechanism would further play an important and active role."

Current KMT chairman Wu and former KMT chairman Lien Chan have both visited the mainland to meet with CPC chief Hu. Lien's first meeting with Hu was the first between top party leaders across the Straits since 1949.

Joy Lu and Xie Yu contributed to the story