Despite rising tension in the Taiwan Straits stirred up by the secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities’ collusion with US politicians, senior Chinese officials have in recent days been meeting with business leaders from the Taiwan region and have called for strengthened cross-Straits cooperation.
Ma Ying-jeou, a former Kuomintang party leader from the Taiwan island, is visiting the mainland from March 27 to April 7 to pay respects to his ancestors and promote cross-Straits youth exchanges. In contrast, current Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen will “transit” through the United States twice and meet with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy while on her way to Guatemala and Belize.
At a time when the problems facing the world are becoming acuter, Sino-US relations are also becoming increasingly tense, because the United States has been repeatedly violating the one-China principle.
Ever since Ma Ying-jeou left office as Taiwan leader in 2016, his likely visit to the Chinese mainland has been a topic of discussion, because on many occasions he had expressed his desire to visit the mainland.
The two sides of the Taiwan Straits are one family, said a senior mainland Taiwan affairs official during a meeting with the former chairperson of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party Ma Ying-jeou, as the two stressed the importance of adhering to the 1992 Consensus on Thursday.