| |
BEIJING : The Honorary Chairman of Taiwan's Kuomintang, Lien Chan, met Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday in a sign that the two sides are strengthening their links.
As a gesture of goodwill, a bronze sculpture titled "The Water Sleeves" - a creation by the late Taiwanese artist Yu Yu Yang - will be a centrepiece at the Beijing Olympic Park.
The sculpture, which signifies peace and friendship, is an enlarged version of the same sculpture presented to President Hu by Mr Lien during his visit in 2006.
Taiwan dropped out of the Olympic torch relay due to tensions between the pro-independence administration of outgoing president Chen Shui-bien and mainland China. But with the Kuomintang (KMT) coming back to power after the recent Presidential elections, cross-strait relations are expected to improve slowly.
Political observers said Mr Lien's visit - his fourth in four years - will help strengthen political links between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party.
Taiwan's President-elect Ma Ying-jeou on the other hand, will work towards better economic ties with the mainland, while maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
"We should be cautiously optimistic about how much improvement in cross-strait ties can be made, as there are long-standing issues at hand. Ma's main concern will still be on boosting the economy," said Associate Professor Sun Yan, School of International Studies, Peking University.
And that will also be on Mr Lien's agenda. His entourage includes some Taiwanese business leaders - a bedrock of support for the KMT's pragmatic cross-strait policies.
More direct flights between China and Taiwan are also in the pipeline, but there are issues to be ironed out.
"There are issues of investment caps on Taiwanese businesses and other details on cross-strait cooperation to be discussed. It may not happen quickly, but we are hopeful," said Alin Chiang, VP of Beijing Association of Taiwan Enterprises.
Despite the potential problems, the outlook for cross-strait ties remains upbeat, and that's something positive not only for Beijing and Taipei, but the region as well. - CNA /ls/de
|
