Historic meeting of China and Taiwan

On Nov. 7, 2015, Chinese and Taiwanese leaders had a historic meeting.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou at Singapore and took a conference. They shook hands for one minute in front of reporters. It is for the first time since Taiwan was established in 1949.

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Singapore was chosen as the place of the meeting because it is one of the cities maintaining neutral stance between them. Singapore is adopting Chinese and English as the official languages, and permit many international companies to deal with the business.

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The two leaders confirmed that there is “One-China” base on the consensus established in 1992, meaning that at present Communist Party and Taiwan Nationalist Party are only conflicting regarding the sovereignty of China, rather than China itself has been split into two nations. This recognition seems beneficial to the both leaders.

On the other hand, Chinese President was reluctant to shrink the military force. When Ma referred the missiles placed on the seashore in front of Taiwan, Xi merely said that these weapons were not aiming at Taiwan, without mentioning the possibility of the removal of the missiles.

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After all, there was no progress toward the reunion of China in this meeting. However, they agreed to the idea that a hotline connecting them will be developed. I do not think the situation around Taiwan will be amended soon following this conference. Nonetheless, it is certain that the relationship between China and Taiwan will become closer.

The result of the next election in Taiwan is crucial. Opposite Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) seems to be advantageous. DPP is against the One-China policy. If it wins the next Presidential election next year, it may break the consensus in 1992. In this case, the confirmation of the two leaders in this meeting will control the next President’s diplomatic policy.

Xi declared the willingness of Chinese to make negotiations with Taiwanese as far as they adhere the One-China policy. In this sense, China seemed to prioritize the stability of this region to its authority.