Cross-Strait affairs chiefs hold first formal meeting

NANJING, Feb. 11 -- The chief officials on cross-Strait affairs from the mainland and Taiwan met formally for the first time since 1949 on Tuesday afternoon.

Zhang Zhijun, head of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, held a formal meeting with Wang Yu-chi, Taiwan's mainland affairs chief, who arrived in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, on Tuesday morning as part of a four-day visit.

Exchanges between the mainland and Taiwan had stalled since the Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan in 1949 after being defeated in a civil war.

Business and personnel exchanges resumed in the late 1980s, and in the early 1990s the two sides started to engage with each other through the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), and its Taiwan counterpart, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).

The ARATS and SEF are non-governmental organizations, founded in 1991 and 1990 respectively.

ARATS-SEF talks have sped up since 2008 and produced a number of important cross-Strait agreements, including an agreement to lift the ban on direct shipping, air transport and postal services in 2008 and the long-awaited Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement in 2010.

The meeting between Zhang and Wang, the sitting cross-Strait affairs chiefs from the two sides, is considered an important breakthrough in promoting cross-Strait relations and may lead to regular exchanges of visits in the future.

Zhang and Wang first met informally on the sidelines of the informal economic leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Bali, Indonesia last October, and they agreed to hold mutual visits.

Related News:

>> Taiwan official arrives for groundbreaking mainland-Taiwan meeting

Wang Yu-chi, Taiwan's mainland affairs chief, arrived in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, on Tuesday morning for a four-day visit.[Read More]

>> Taiwan's mainland affairs chief sets off for mainland visit

Taiwan's mainland affairs chief Wang Yu-chi set off on Tuesday morning for a four-day visit to the Chinese mainland, leading a 20-strong delegation.[Read More]

>> Mainland, Taiwan to hold first official meet in 65 yrs

Chinese mainland and Taiwan officials overseeing cross-Straits policy are slated to meet on Tuesday, the highest-level meeting between the two sides since 1949. [Read More]