China, Taiwan agree to establish cross-strait hotline

China, Taiwan agree to establish cross-strait hotline. November. 09, 2015 08:58. bonhong@donga.com.

It was a summit meeting without any national flag seen at the venue. The leaders of Taiwan and China addressed each other “mister,” not president or premier.

The first summit meeting held in Singapore between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwan`s President Ma Ying-jeou since they separated in 1949 has displayed a sense of tension in the cross-Strait relations over China’s "one country, two systems" principle - the principle that both capitalism and socialist systems can be maintained concurrently. A careful consideration, however, has also been sensed to have a talk on an equal footing.

Addressing each other “Mr. Xi” and “Mr. Ma,” it was clear that the two leaders were trying to put the difference of system and ideology aside, and to put much weight on the “first meeting” itself. “We are brothers connected by flesh even if our bones are broken. We are a family whose blood is thicker than water," Xi appealed for integration by using emotional rhetoric at an opening speech released to the public.

Ma presented the five issues for peaceful development which included reducing hostility, expanding exchanges and establishing a cross-strait hotline. After the meeting, the Taiwanese president said that he had asked Xi to be more careful about missile deployment, adding that Mr. Xi responded the missile is not aimed at Taiwan. Ma’s suggestion over setting up the hotline has been immediately agreed on the spot.