Contacts between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are developing at breathtaking speed, with James Soong Chu-yu, chairman of the opposition People First Party, scheduled to begin a week-long visit to the mainland tomorrow.
His trip follows hard on the heels of the highly successful visit by Lien Chan, chairman of the opposition Kuomintang, who ended his mainland visit yesterday.
More significantly, Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian has entrusted Mr Soong with a message for the central government, the first such contact between the two leaderships since Mr Chen became president five years ago. He has also reversed his government's position by declaring Mr Lien's visit and talks with President Hu Jintao were not illegal acts.
The initial reaction from the Taiwanese government to Mr Lien's talks in Beijing was fury and condemnation, with Joseph Wu Jau-shieh, chairman of the cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council, declaring the KMT leader may have violated the law.
The change in attitude may well be due to opinion surveys showing most people approve of the visit. A poll by Fu Jen University showed that 56 per cent approved of the Lien visit, while nearly 60 per cent believe that Taiwan and the mainland should make efforts to end their hostilities and head off a military conflict.
In Taiwan Mr Lien is often seen as an insipid politician with little charisma, but he was an electrifying presence on the mainland, delivering a rousing speech at Peking University that was repeatedly interrupted by applause.