China, Taiwan presidents meet for 1st time ever, shake hands
Source: AP
SINGAPORE (AP) — The leaders of China and Taiwan met Saturday for the first time since the formerly bitter Cold War foes split amid civil war 66 years ago, and though no concrete agreement resulted, both hailed the meeting as a sign of a new stability in relations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou came together on neutral ground in the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore, walking toward each other in a hotel ballroom in front of a backdrop of yellow — a traditional color of Chinese emperors.
The two men smiled broadly as they shook hands for more than one minute, turning slightly to the side to accommodate a host of photojournalists in the ballroom. No national flags were present — a necessary work-around to overcome China's refusal to recognize Taiwan's sovereignty or its government's formal legitimacy — and the two men were referred to merely as "Mr. Xi" and "Mr. Ma" to further reduce the chances of bruised sensitivities.
In brief opening remarks in front of reporters before going into a closed-door meeting, Xi said, "History will record this day." He alluded to China's long-cherished goals of unification with Taiwan, saying, "We are one family," and "No force can pull us apart."
Read more: http://hosted2.ap.org/TXWAC/8ef5320729ce4298abefc1903704c7d5/Article_2015-11-07-AS--China-Taiwan/id-d9c14a0fe76c45b185d25e0603dad5a9
= new reply since forum marked as read
(and subsequently "Taiwan R.O.C."
. Now the mainland is the juggernaut and theoretically doesn't need "a Taiwan" anymore (although they still look askance at Hong Kong). Alot has changed over the past 15 years.
