Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou Meet in Singapore

After 2008, on the shared political foundation of the “1992 Consensus,” cross-strait relations developed peacefully, the “three links” were achieved and more than twenty agreements were signed, including the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement. On 7 November 2015 Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President, met Ma Ying-jeou, the Taiwan side’s leader, at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. The two met as “leaders of the two sides of the Strait” and addressed each other as “Mr.” It was the first meeting of cross-strait leaders since 1949 and a milestone in the history of cross-strait relations. In the meeting they exchanged views on further advancing peaceful development. Xi said that compatriots on both sides are one family bound by blood and that both sides should uphold the “1992 Consensus” and consolidate the common political foundation. Ma also said the “1992 Consensus” should be consolidated and the peaceful status quo maintained, and both sides affirmed the consensus’s important role. The meeting set a precedent for direct dialogue between cross-strait leaders and showed that the two sides have the ability and wisdom to solve their own problems, and the kinship of one family. Afterward Taiwan’s political situation changed: after the Democratic Progressive Party took power in 2016 it refused to recognize the “1992 Consensus,” and relations reached a stalemate. The mainland adheres to the one-China principle and the “1992 Consensus,” firmly opposes “Taiwan independence” separatist activities and interference by external forces, and has introduced measures promoting cross-strait economic and cultural exchange and giving Taiwan compatriots equal treatment, in order to advance cross-strait integration.