Beijing ¨C China will implement a series of measures to enhance exchanges with Taiwan, Beijing said on Sunday on the final day of a rare visit by an opposition party delegation from the self-ruled island.
Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun is the party¡¯s first leader to visit China in a decade, although she has faced criticism in Taiwan from those who accuse her of being too pro-Beijing.
China cut off high-level contact with Taiwan after the 2016 presidential victory of the Democratic Progressive Party, which remains in power and which rejects Beijing¡¯s claim that the self-ruled island is part of its territory.
Beijing released a list of 10 measures to ¡°promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and enhance the well-being of compatriots,¡± state news agency Xinhua said, hours before Cheng¡¯s scheduled return to Taipei on Sunday afternoon.
Among the policies authorised by Beijing¡¯s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) is an effort to ¡°promote the resumption of the pilot program for individual travel¡± to Taiwan¡¯s main island for residents of Shanghai and Fujian province, Xinhua said.
In a potential further boost to travel links, the TAO said authorities will push for a ¡°full resumption¡± of direct flights between Taiwan and various cities, including Urumqi, Xi¡¯an, Harbin, Kunming and Lanzhou.
China will also allow the importation of Taiwanese dramas, documentaries and animations, although they must be ¡°correctly oriented, wholesome and high-quality,¡± Xinhua said.
KMT Vice Chairman Chang Jung-kung said in a news release the measures were ¡°highly welcome.¡±
¡°They are particularly in line with the expectations of various sectors in Taiwan and constitute a significant boost to the peaceful development of cross-strait relations,¡± Chang said.
The announcement came two days after Cheng¡¯s closely watched meeting with President Xi Jinping in the Chinese capital.
Xi told Cheng during their talks that ¡°the general trend of compatriots on both sides of the Strait getting closer, edging nearer and becoming united will not change.¡±
Cheng echoed that sentiment at a later news conference, calling on younger generations to ¡°avoid war¡± by ¡°opposing Taiwan independence.¡±
Beijing has ramped up military pressure around Taiwan in recent years, conducting near-daily deployments of fighter jets and warships, as well as regularly staging large-scale military drills.
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