On 29 June 2010, Chiang Pin-kung, head of Taiwan delegation, and Chen Yunlin, the head of the mainland China delegation, signed the Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in Chongqing, where Communist leader Mao Zedong and Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek tried to negotiate a united front against the Japanese during the second world war. The trade [...]

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On 7 January 2010, the Chinese government denounced the U.S. decision to clear the sale of Patriot missiles by Lockheed Martine to Taiwan, the deal entered into by George W. Bush. Three days later, the Chinese Foreign Ministry again denounced U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, a $1.1 billion order received by Raytheon Con for ground-system [...]

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When Vice President Xi Jinping visited Japan, the head of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), an opposition in Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, was in Tokyo on 15 December 2009. Regarding the unification, she stated that the whole Taiwanese people (23 million people) must decide their future of the unification. At the same time, Ma Ying-jeou, was [...]

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On 26 July 2009, Ma Ying-jeou ran uncontested in the election for Kuomingtang (KMT) party chief. The Chinese communist party chief, Hu Jintao, congratulated Ma Ying-jeou. “I hope that our two parties can continue to promote peaceful development of cross-strait relations, deepen mutual trust, boost the well-being of compatriots on both sides and create a [...]

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It was a sad day for the South Korean people when former President Roh Moo Hyun committed suicide on 23 May 2009. One of many reasons for Roh’s suicide was that he felt strong responsibility towards the Korean citizens as prosecutors began to make the bribery case. Well, it is time for the Chinese to [...]

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Many people know Dr. Sun Yat-sen had three wives: Lu Muzhen, Soong Ching-ling, and Chen Cuifen. However, recently the Japanese media reported that the daughter of fourth wife of Sun is alive. In 1898, Sun met Ootsuki Kaoru in Yokohama, and Sun made his proposal to her in 1901 when Sun was 36 years old, [...]

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On 26 May 2009, the Chairman of Kuomingtang (KMT) Wu Poh-hsiung met with General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Hu Jintao in Beijing. During the talks between leaders of the two parties, Hu Jintao made a stunning proposal suggesting that the “end hostility and [that two sides] reach [a] peace agreement,” noting that the [...]

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When both sides of the Taiwan Strait are getting friendlier, one of groups is getting upset — the Japanese right-wing groups. In May 2009, the Japanese envoy (de facto Japanese embassy in Taipei), Saito Masaki gave a speech at a university in Taiwan. In his speech, the Japanese envoy stated that the Taiwan status has [...]

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On 26 April 2009, Chen Yunlin, Head of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, and Chiang Pin-kun, Head of the Straits Exchange Foundation met for the third time to enter a new agreement between the Taiwan Strait in Nanjing. This deal included an increase in the frequency of direct flights, to allow mainland [...]

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The mainland’s largest offshore explorer, CNOOC, signed with Taiwan’s oil company, CPC, for the cooperation agreements. According to Xinhua News this agreement includes to joint exploration of the Chaozhou Shantou Basin off mainland’s Guangdong coast and joint study on the Wuqiuyu Basin off Fujian coast. Furthermore, CNOOC is ready to transfer of a 30 percent [...]

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On November 3rd, Chen Yunlin, Head of Mainland Affair Council, arrived in Taiwan, becoming the first Chinese high official to visit the island. Chen and Chiang Pin-kun, Head of the Straits Exchange Foundation, signed an agreement by stopping “3 NOs” from Taiwan. The major items in the agreement are:
a. A daily direct flight will [...]

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On September 22, former President Lee Teng-hui visited Okinawa, Japan for the first time. He was treated with VIP status with more than 400 police protecting him. When Lee met the Governor of Okinawa, Nakaima Hirokazu, for lunch on 24th, Lee Teng-hui remarked “The Tiaoyutai (Diaoyu/Senkaku) Islands have belonged to Japan since long ago,” which [...]

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Two Chinese: Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong loathed each other for more than half a century; as a result supporters of the two sides have almost killed each other on many occasions. After nearly 60 years of hostility between Taiwan and mainland China, Taiwan and China have entered an agreement on June 13, 2008, on [...]

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After the “two states” theory by Lee Teng-hui, and the eight years of “independent” ideological politics by Chen Shui-bian, people in Taiwan finally chose Ma Ying-jeou who promised to revitalize its economy first by loosening restrictions on investment in mainland China and permitting more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan. The winners are the Chinese in [...]

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The reconciliation across the Taiwan Strait is continuing. In May, Hu Jintao, the Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party had historic meeting with the Wu Poh-hsiung, Chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party, Taiwan’s ruling party. Even though Wu had met Hu many times prior this meeting, this meeting is significant. The Hu-Wu meeting was the [...]

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