Strait talk: 'Beijing needs Taipei’s help', says analyst on historic Taiwan-China presidents' meeting
Beijing wants to boost relations with Taiwan before election, likely to see pro-independence opposition win presidency, because it needs Taipei's help in territorial disputes, says analyst
The first meeting between President Xi Jinping and his Taiwanese counterpart, Ma Ying-jeou, on Saturday will open a channel of direct communications between their top leaders, even if Ma’s Kuomintang party loses its hold on the presidency in the Taiwanese elections in January, analysts said.
Their meeting has come as a surprise to many people and was a milestone in relations as the first summit between leaders from across the Taiwan Strait since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, observers said.
“It is a milestone in cross-straits relations as it will set a precedent for future relations,” said Xu Xue, a Taiwanese affairs expert at Xiamen University’s Institute of Taiwan Studies.
“The meeting will open a channel of direct communication between the highest levels, which is also a landmark development in the relations.”
Lin Chong-pin, a mainland affairs expert, formerly at Tamkang University, who highlighted that Beijing had previously refused to recognise Taiwan as a sovereign government, said: “It is a breakthrough in relations as it marks Beijing’s recognition of Taiwanese government.
“With the summit, Beijing has tacitly recognised Taipei as a sovereign government and Ma Ying-jeou as Taiwan’s leader,” added Lin, who played a role in Taiwan’s mainland policy-making as Taiwan’s former deputy defence minister and vice-chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council.
Lin said that there could be no grounds for going ahead with political talks if Beijing insisted on refusing to recognise Taiwan as a sovereign government.