Mainland to strengthen CPC-KMT platform for protecting Taiwan people's rights

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland will work to improve the operation and effectiveness of a cross-Strait platform established by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT), a spokesperson said Wednesday.

The platform has maintained effective operations over the years through regular meetings, case referrals and other forms of cooperation, making itself an important channel for people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to lodge complaints, seek advice and assistance, and protect their legitimate rights and interests, Zhang Han, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a regular news briefing.

Since the beginning of this year, the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the KMT have held multiple consultations to improve the platform's operations and effectiveness, and they have reached a consensus on further cooperation, she said.

The two sides will maintain regular communication and provide timely feedback, and the platform will offer Taiwan residents professional legal services, Zhang said.

They will also work to enhance assistance for Taiwan residents facing temporary difficulties, help people search for missing relatives and provide humanitarian care, she added.

The two sides of the Strait established an investment dispute settlement mechanism in 2012 under a cross-Strait investment protection agreement reached on a common political foundation of the 1992 Consensus.

However, the mechanism was suspended in May 2016 because Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus, which embodies the one-China principle, Zhang said.

The mainland is willing to engage in dialogue on resuming the mechanism's operations, provided that the DPP authorities recognize the 1992 Consensus, Zhang said.

The Taiwan question stems from a civil war fought between the forces led by the CPC and the KMT about eight decades ago. In 1949, the defeated KMT retreated to Taiwan, while the People's Republic of China was founded under the leadership of the CPC.

The unresolved civil war and foreign interference have left the two sides of the Strait in a prolonged state of political confrontation. However, the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory has never changed.