Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), delivers a keynote speech at the third Straits Forum in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, June 12, 2011. (Xinhua/Li Tao)
XIAMEN -- China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin on Sunday said that the mainland and Taiwan should consolidate a political foundation for the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.
The two sides will see their relations develop in a proper direction only when cross-Strait relations are stabilized and the shared political desire to oppose "Taiwan independence" and stick to the 1992 Consensus is cemented, said Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Negotiations between the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait and its Taiwan counterpart, the Straits Exchange Foundation, should continue to prioritize the improvement of people's livelihoods and consider immediate interests such as "ensuring employment and increasing incomes," Jia said during a conference at the weeklong Straits Forum, which opened in the mainland's coastal city of Xiamen on Saturday.
He called for the acceleration of follow-up negotiations for the cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which took effect last September, and for the further removal of trade barriers between both sides.
Jia, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, also called for expanding cultural and educational exchanges.
Jia encouraged civil groups and small and medium-sized enterprises of both sides to play a more active role in promoting cross-Strait trade, investment and tourism.
He said both sides should seize the "hard-won" opportunity to develop the West Strait Economic District -- a mainland region close to Taiwan that encompasses 21 cities and several southeastern provinces.
Tseng Yung-chuan, vice chairman of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party, said cross-Strait relations are currently marching towards a "great era."
Xiamen, a coastal city with a population of 2.52 million, was a flashpoint for cross-Strait rivalry in the 1950s and 1960s, after the KMT lost a civil war with the CPC and fled to Taiwan in the late 1940s.
Cross-Strait exchanges warmed after the KMT, led by a new generation of leaders, returned to power in the 2008 Taiwan election, ending eight years of rule by pro-secession Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party.
