Xi-Chu meeting strengthens the 1992 Consensus
- By Zhang Hua
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E-mail China.org.cn, May 6, 2015
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Xi Jinping (R), general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, meets with Chinese Kuomintang Chairman Eric Chu in Beijing, capital of China, May 4, 2015. [Xinhua/Lan Hongguang] |
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping met with Kuomintang Chairman Eric Chu in Beijing on May 4 in the latter's first visit to the mainland since his election last January. As planned, Chu also attended the 10th Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum.
In this key period of the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, the Xi-Chu meeting is of great significance and has drawn wide attention.
A political celebrity in Taiwan
Eric Chu is a political celebrity in Taiwan with abundant governing experience at both the local and "central" level. He has served in several senior positions within the KMT, attracting much media coverage and receiving top ratings for his professionalism, especially in budget review.
In 2001 he was nominated to run for Taoyuan County Magistrate. With strong KMT support and family power, Chu defeated the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) incumbent, Peng Shao-chin, to become the youngest county head in Taiwan.
In December 2005, Chu once again defeated the DPP candidate in Taoyuan County with 180,000 votes, doubling the amount he received in 2001. Chu's financial expertise and his management and coordination abilities enabled Taoyuan to become the county with the most foreign investment, the largest population growth rate and the lowest unemployment rate. As a result, Chu was named "Five-Star Magistrate" many times.
In November 2010, Chu defeated DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen to become mayor of New Taipei City. Finally, on January 17, 2014 he was elected KMT chairman with 99.61 percent of votes. He is now seen as the most promising challenger to DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen in the 2016 leadership election.
Communication between the two parties
The first meeting between the leaders of the KMT and CPC since 1949 took place in April 2005, when KMT Chairman Lien Chan visited the mainland at the invitation of then General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Hu Jintao. The visit was the first meeting between the leaders of the two parties in more than 60 years and was a historic step forward.
The peaceful development path carved out by the two parties after the Hu-Lien meeting included the establishment of a regular party-to-party communication platform. The first Cross-Strait Economic and Trade Forum was held in Beijing in April 2006, and there have been nine such meetings so far.
General Secretary Xi Jinping met with Lien Chan in February 2013 and with Wu Po-hsiung in June the same year. Earlier in November 2012, Ma Ying-Jeou congratulated Xi Jinping on his election as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, while in July 2013 Xi congratulated Ma on his election as KMT chairman.
With Eric Chu's election as KMT Chairman at the end of 2014, another opportunity appeared for meetings between the leaders of the two parties.
Chu's Beijing visit builds on the previously reached consensus and conventions while helping to build mutual trust between the new generations of leaders on both sides.
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