Director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Wang Yi (王毅) recent remarks in Washington:
“Moreover, people-to-people exchanges in such fields as culture and education shall also be enhanced in a healthy and orderly manner. The cross-strait relationship is still facing many unsolved disputes and conflicts as well as new challenges,” he said. “Both sides need to build mutual trust, seek common ground while shelving differences and disputes and strive to create win-win results which is a guarantee for the stable development of ties.”
According to Xinhua, Wang stressed that opposing “the secessionist activities of the Taiwan independence forces and sticking with the 1992 consensus” is the basis for building mutual trust.
“We must send a clear message: We oppose Taiwan independence in various forms and we must take a firm stand to maintain the hard-earned good situation in cross-strait relations,” Wang said.
As previously reported in the Taipei Times, Wang said that both sides had agreed to tackle the easier, economic issues first, but that this was not absolute, because some seemingly easy issues were difficult and some economic issues were political.
Note also how opposing secessionist activities is the basis for building mutual trust - in itself an acknowledgement that any new government in 2012 will have to also kiss ass and toe the party line or risk standing accused of breaking mutual trust and being a ... troublemaker. The good-situation in cross-strait relations refers to Taiwan's KMT Government being more than friendly with Beijing, to the extent of getting unnecessarily involved in pointless maritime disputes. Note at the end there the tacit acknowledgement that some economic issues were political - this is a slap in the face for President Ma who famously said that politics and economics were separate in regard to the signing of the ECFA. For China to say that some economic issues were political is the understatement of the century.
Check this editorial for a more astute analysis ...
UPDATE: The timing couldn't have been better for an illustration of how the KMT and CCP have agreed on the memes to be utilised during the process of rapprochement across the Taiwan Strait:
The actions of a mainland Chinese delegation at the Tokyo International Film Festival have seriously hurt the feelings of the people of Taiwan, Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang said Oct. 24.
Lo stressed that the TIFF is a nongovernmental cultural event that the ROC has attended for many years under the name “Taiwan.” He urged Beijing to engage in respectful and peaceful relations with Taiwan based on the principles of “facing reality, building trust, setting aside controversies and creating a win-win situation.”
On the evening of Oct. 23, just prior to the TIFF opening ceremonies, Jiang Ping, the leader of the mainland Chinese delegation, insisted that the Taiwan delegation to the festival change its name from “Taiwan” to either “Chinese Taipei” or “Taiwan, China.”
When Chen Chih-kuan, head of the Taiwan delegation, refused to do so, Jiang threatened to boycott the festival. He threatened for good measure that Taiwanese films would be blocked from the mainland Chinese market in the future.
“This is an issue involving our sovereignty and dignity and we cannot accede to such a request,” said Chen, who is also the director of Motion Pictures at the Cabinet-level Government Information Office. “Politics should be separate from cultural events.”
ROC Premier Wu Den-yih strongly condemned the move by the mainland Chinese delegation, calling it “irrational” and a “serious mistake.”
GIO Minister Johnny Chi-chen Chiang pointed out that Taiwan’s films are placed under “Taiwanese Cinema Renaissance: New Breeze of the Rising Generation” at the event, which runs through Oct. 31.
The organizer has accepted the name of Taiwan, and promised the delegation it will be able to retain the name it has always used, according to Chiang.
As a result of the dispute, neither the Taiwan nor the mainland Chinese delegation was able to walk the eco-friendly green carpet. However, the Taiwan delegation will continue to take part in remaining events at the festival.
