At the end of the 20th century, China made great achievements in its reform and opening-up drive. Hong Kong and Macao successively returned to the embrace of the motherland, which ended the history of Western powers occupying Chinese territory, marking great progress in the process of reunification. Chinese compatriots at home and abroad have since become even more concerned about the early settlement of the Taiwan issue, and the complete reunification of the motherland.

President Hu Jintao's remarks on the Taiwan issue. Chinese President Hu Jintao delivered a speech on the Taiwan issue at a panel discussion of the Taiwan delegation to the First Session of the 10th National People's Congress on March 11, 2003. The president pointed out that the solution to the Taiwan issue according to the basic policies of peaceful reunification and "one country, two systems" are favorable for Taiwan people, for cross-strait ties and for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. He went on to raise a four-point proposal on the Taiwan-related work "under the new situation," that is, to always adhere to the one-China principle, to spare no efforts to promote economic and cultural exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, to further implement the principle of "placing hopes on the Taiwan people," and to unite compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to jointly push forward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Premier Wen: No tolerance to "Taiwan independence." On December 7, 2003, visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said, when talking with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, that China will not tolerate the splittist activities of some forces in Taiwan using the excuse of democracy. Wen said the mainland understood the aspiration of the people in Taiwan for democracy. However, the essence of the problem now is that the separatist forces within the Taiwan authorities attempt to use democracy only as a cover to split Taiwan away from China and this is what we will never tolerate, the premier continued. But he said that as long as there is still a glimmer of hope, the Chinese Government will not give up its efforts for a peaceful reunification and a peaceful settlement. Annan emphasized that the United Nations maintained the one-China policy but that differences needed to be settled without "any resort to violence."

U.S., China express opposition to referendum in Taiwan. After meeting with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Washington on December 9, 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush stated clearly at a joint press conference that the United States opposes unilateral attempt of theTaiwan authorities to change the status quo using "referendum." In an interview with the executive editor of The Washington Post in Beijing before his U.S. trip, Premier Wen expounded China's solemn position on referendum in Taiwan, warning that China will not sit by and do nothing faced with provocative activities aimed at splitting the motherland and the Chinese people will pay any price to safeguard the unity of the motherland.

Document on "three direct links" issued. On December 17, 2003, The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council issued a document on China's policy on direct links in mail, transport and trade across the Taiwan Strait. The policy paper, entitled Actively and Realistically Promote "Three Direct Links" Across the Taiwan Strait by Reliance on the People and in the Interests of the People, expounds the basic stances and propositions of China on the "three direct links" and explains some relevant questions including consultation between non-governmental trade organizations on both sides of the strait, the flag and certificate in cross-strait direct air and shipping services, participation of foreign companies in cross-strait air and shipping services and the relationship between the "three direct links" and the so-called Taiwan security.

Referendum in Taiwan failed. The Taiwan Work Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council issued a statement on March 20 after the referendum in Taiwan was vetoed. The statement says, "On March 20, the Taiwan authorities wilfully held the so-called 'peace referendum' in a provocative attempt to undermine cross-strait relations and split the motherland. The referendum turned out to be invalid. Facts have proven that this illegal act goes against the will of the people. Any attempt to separate Taiwan from China is doomed to failure."

Mainland became Taiwan's largest trading partner. Statistics released by the Taiwan authorities show that Taiwan's imports from the mainland reached $10.96 billion and its exports to the mainland rose to $35.36 billion in 2003, both hitting all-time highs. With $46.32 billion of total trade volume, the mainland became the largest trading partner of Taiwan, surpassing the United States and Japan for the first time. According to figures released by Taiwan's "ministry of economic affairs," the gross trade volume between Taiwan and the mainland in 2003 increased 23.8 percent over that of 2002 and accounted for 17.1 percent of the island's total trade volumes with other countries and regions. Taiwan's exports to the mainland grew 20 percent over the previous year, accounting for 24.5 percent of its total exports. Its imports from the mainland rose 37.9 percent, making up 8.6 percent of the total imports. Currently, the mainland is the third largest import source of Taiwan. The trade surplus of Taiwan with the mainland reached $24.4 billion in 2003, 13.4 percent higher than that in 2002. Taiwan media commented that these statistics show that economies on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have been closely integrated.