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          Taiwan Urges China to Resolve Cross-strait Issues Peacefully

   by William Ide

   Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said the importance of security and
   dignity to the Taiwanese people was one of the key messages he shared
   with China's President Xi Jinping Saturday, when leaders of the two
   countries met for the first time in more than six decades.

   Ma told reporters that during his hourlong meeting with Xi, he raised
   concerns about the deployment of missiles across the Taiwan Strait. He
   said that Xi replied by saying that the missiles were not aimed at
   Taiwan.

   "I especially emphasized that the two sides must base our ties on
   integrity, respect, clarity and good will in order to narrow the
   distance between the two sides. So I specially mentioned that both
   sides should turn hostility into friendship, and seek peace, not war,"
   Ma said, speaking to a crowded core of international media in the
   ballroom of Singapore's Shangri-la Hotel.

   China claims that Taiwan is part of its territory and that it must
   unify with the mainland. Beijing has never renounced its option to use
   force to resolve the dispute.

   No meeting with reporters

   Xi did not speak with reporters after the meeting but did make brief
   remarks before the talks began. In his comments, Xi, much like Ma,
   stressed the desire to peacefully develop relations between the two
   sides.

   '' But both Xi and the official who spoke on his behalf to reporters
   after the meeting showed little flexibility. Xi stressed China's
   resolute position that Beijing would never accept one Taiwan or one
   China or even two China's on the global stage.

   "Sixty-six years of development of cross-strait relations has shown
   that no matter how much difficulties compatriots on both sides have
   been through, no matter how long we have been separated, no force can
   keep us apart," Xi said. "We are brothers linked by blood. Bones may be
   broken, but they are not split, we are one family."

   Despite Xi's sentiment, public opinion polls in Taiwan show that an
   increasing number there identify themselves as Taiwanese and not
   Chinese.

   Democracy vs ethnic identity

   One commentator speaking on a Taiwan's Formosa TV said that Taiwanese
   are more concerned about minzhu or democracy, than minzu or ethnic
   identity.

   "Taiwan's Mr. Ma Ying-jeou did not even mention the word democracy, a
   core value of Taiwan. Democracy is the Taiwanese people deciding their
   own fate. The people of Taiwan will determine their future," she added.

   Xi said that currently the development of cross-strait relations is
   faced with a choice of which direction and path it should travel.

   ''"We sit together today so the historical tragedy will not be
   repeated, the achievements of the peaceful development of cross-strait
   relations will not be lost, compatriots on both sides can continue to
   live a peaceful life and the coming generations can share a bright
   future," Xi said.

   During the meeting the two agreed to establish a hotline between the
   two sides to help discuss urgent issues.

   Since Taiwan's Ma stepped into office in 2008, the two sides have
   signed 23 trade agreements, but it has taken until the meeting in
   Singapore for the top two leaders to meet - just weeks before Taiwan
   holds presidential and legislative elections.

   Upcoming Taiwan election

   The release of news of the meeting just days before it was held in
   Singapore has triggered protests in Taiwan.

   Some have voiced concern that the meeting is being held behind closed
   doors, while others have questioned the motivations of both Ma and Xi
   for agreeing to meet up just weeks before Taiwan holds what could be a
   historic election for the opposition Democratic Progressive Party.

   Ma's Nationalist Party is trailing in the polls and for the first time
   it could lose both the presidency and legislature. The elections are
   scheduled for January 16.

   Ma has denied that the meeting has any connection to the elections.

   China has been playing up the meeting heavily in its state press, but
   during the brief remarks by the two leaders, state-run broadcaster CCTV
   cut away during its live broadcast when President Ma delivered his
   remarks. State media also did not broadcast Ma's comments to reporters
   after the meeting.

   For China, some say the meeting is but the latest effort to smooth over
   its perceived image as a regional bully.

   China has come under intense scrutiny recently over its territorial
   claims in the South China Sea and making some headway with Taiwan, with
   which it has a long-standing dispute, could help, some argue.

   Singapore was the same place that representatives from Taiwan and China
   first met in 1992. It is also a stop along a regional tour that
   President Xi is currently making to the region.

   Prior to visiting Singapore, Xi also paid a visit to Vietnam, which saw
   deadly protests last year and an outpouring of anti-Chinese sentiment
   when Beijing parked an oil rig off of Vietnam's coast.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/taiwan-urges-china-to-resolve-cross-s
   trait-issues-peacefully/3045887.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/taiwan-urges-china-to-resolve-cross-strait-issues-peacefully/3045887.html