Symposium to be held to mark anniversary of historic Wang-Koo Talks: mainland spokesperson

BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A symposium will be held on Friday in Beijing to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Wang-Koo Talks, a historic meeting that marked a major step forward for cross-Strait relations, a Chinese mainland spokesperson said Wednesday.

In April 1993, Wang Daohan, then head of the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), and Koo Chen-fu, then chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation, held a productive meeting in Singapore, establishing institutionalized mechanisms for contact and consultation between the two sides.

The Wang-Koo Talks were the first high-level meeting held between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan in the name of the authorized non-governmental organizations since 1949, said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

Friday's symposium will be hosted by the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office, in collaboration with the ARATS, she said at a press conference.

The Wang-Koo Talks set a precedent for high-level contact, dialogue and equal-footed consultation across the Taiwan Strait, highlighted the importance of the 1992 Consensus as the foundation for cross-Strait consultation, and demonstrated that the Chinese people on both sides have the ability and wisdom to properly handle their own affairs, Zhu said.

Calling for efforts to draw from the historical experience of the Wang-Koo Talks, Zhu stressed the importance of upholding the political foundation of the 1992 Consensus, following the right direction of peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, and protecting the interests and well-being of people on both sides, in an effort to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.