Beijing won't rush into political talks with Taipei, analysts say
Beijing to get own house in order before political dialogue, analyst says
The report delivered by outgoing Communist Party general secretary Hu Jintao last week should remove any doubt in Taipei that Beijing will soon push for political talks, Taiwanese analysts said.
Such a push may have to wait for a year or two, as incoming Communist Party leader Xi Jinping consolidates his power and launches any plans he has to tackle internal problems. But Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou cannot afford to wait to develop strategies, they said.
"With the incoming new leadership, we should not continue sitting back without changing our approach, but should amend our policies in order to adapt ourselves to the changes," said Su Chi, a former secretary general of Taiwan's National Security Council.
Su said the Ma government was not well prepared for the mainland's leadership change. He noted that Xi had spent 17 years in nearby Fujian province and had enjoyed extensive interaction with Taiwanese businesspeople. He therefore knew Taiwan better than previous incoming leaders.
"He might adopt a more proactive approach to engaging with Taiwan than Hu, and not be satisfied with maintaining the cross-strait status quo," Su said.
Analysts said that Xi's approach - at least initially - would be largely defined by the report on cross-strait relations delivered by Hu at the opening of the 18th party congress on Thursday in Beijing.