By Xinming Li, bostonese.com
Singapore, Nov. 7, 2015, — At 3 PM local time, Xi jinping and Ma Ying-jeou formally met each other and shaked hands in front of more than 500 reporters for 90 seconds. It is the first handshake between leaders of the two sides of Taiwan Straight in 66 years, and will open a new era of peaceful cross-strait exchanges.
“We should show to the world of action, cross-strait Chinese people are fully capable solve their own problems with their wisdom, and work together for peace and stability and regional prosperity, and make greater contribution for peaceful development of the world,” Xi said in his speech.
Ma Ying-jeou stressed the need to consolidate the “1992 consensus”, to maintain the status quo of peace, and a five-point proposal put forward in his speech. He concluded by saying: “Mr. Xi, to people on both sides, let us work together for the pepole destiny for eternal peace for the Chinese nation and create a more peaceful and bright future.”
The two leaders shared the dinner together. The menu is mostly authentic regional Chinese food. There are two cold dishes, four hot dishes, desserts two, the main course is Sichuan dan dan noodles. A picture of the dinner menu is in the photo gallery above. Dinner ended at around 7 PM local time. Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou left the hotel soon after.
Ties have warmed under Ma over past seven years. Closer ties with Beijing have brought trade pacts and a tourism boom as tourist from Mainland China visiting Taiwan reaching record numbers every year.
The KMT, the ruling party of Taiwan, adheres to the “1992 consensus” – a tacit agreement between the party and Beijing which acknowledges there is “one China” but allows each side their own interpretation. Party chairman Eric Chu was endorsed as the KMT’s new contender after members voted against Hung Hsiu-chu representing them at the polls.