President Hu Jintao marked the 30th anniversary of Beijing's first overture to Taiwan with a major speech that offered a comprehensive economic co-operation agreement as well as military contacts and a possible peace deal 'prior to national unification'. The sweeping proposals were immediately welcomed by Taiwan's ruling party, the Kuomintang.
The original overture on January 1, 1979, called for the establishment of 'three links' - direct transport, mail and trade - which were finally realised late last year. While everyone is happy to see the decline in tension across the Taiwan Strait that marked Chen Shui-bian's eight years in power, both Beijing and Taipei should pause and reflect before pushing any further to establish yet closer ties.
It can be argued that taking 30 years to realise the 'three links' is not really a breathtaking pace, but much has already happened in the eight months since Ma Ying-jeou was inaugurated as Taiwanese president. Talks between the two sides, suspended for nine years, resumed in June, weeks after Mr Ma took office.
Weekend charter flights began in July. The mainland's highest level official visited Taiwan in November and direct shipping, air transport and postal services were launched in mid-December.
Two pandas, gifts from the mainland rejected by the Chen administration, arrived in Taiwan on December 23. The sweeping proposals from Mr Hu came eight days later.
Yet, many people in Taiwan cannot adjust to such changes so quickly. This was reflected in the startling results of a public opinion survey published on January 1 by CommonWealth magazine, which cannot be considered pro-independence.
In the survey, conducted annually, 23.5 per cent said Taiwan should immediately or eventually achieve independence while only 6.5 per cent said they wanted unification with the mainland, either now or in the future.