Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Singapore on Saturday, in what will be the first meeting between leaders from the two rival nations since the end of a civil war in 1949. Aljazeera has more:
The two presidents will “exchange views on cross-strait issues” Ma’s spokesman Charles Chen said on Tuesday, referring to the stretch of water separating mainland China and Taiwan. The intention of the visit is to “secure cross-strait peace” but no agreement will be signed, he said.
The Chinese Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office also confirmed the news of the historic meeting, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The surprise meeting follows a gradual warming of relations with Beijing since Ma of the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party came to power in 2008. Taiwan’s main opposition political party, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has called on Ma to calm anxiety over his planned meeting, and assure people it will not affect Taiwan’s status.
Joseph Wu, secretary-general of the DPP, told Reuters that the failure to notify key parliamentary leaders in Taiwan about the meeting planned in Singapore meant it does not meet the principle of democratic oversight or transparency.
