Taiwan has been part of the sacred Chinese territory since ancient times. In 1945, when the Chinese won the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45), compatriots across the Taiwan Straits shared the joy of Taiwan's return to the embrace of the motherland. In 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, the world saw a China enjoying complete sovereignty and towering in the East again. Regretfully, Taiwan was unable to be reunified with the mainland because of the civil war, which was not yet over, and due to the armed intervention of foreign countries. The Chinese people had to continue their struggle for reunification across the Taiwan Straits. At the end of the 20th century, China made great achievements in its reform and opening-up drive. Hong Kong and Macao successively returned to the embrace of the motherland, which ended the history of Western powers occupying Chinese territory, marking great progress in the process of reunification. Chinese compatriots at home and abroad have since beome even more concerned about the early settlement of the Taiwan issue and the complete reunification of the motherland.

Broad prospects for negotiations across the straits

At a seminar marking the eighth anniversary of former President Jiang Zemin's important speech entitled "Continue to Promote the Reunification of the Motherland" on the eve of the 2003 Spring Festival, then Vice Premier Qian Qichen noted that between Chinese across the Taiwan Straits, everything can be discussed and negotiations have broad prospects and room for maneuver.

Qian said that the mainland had always favored early resumption of dialogue and negotiations and was most sincere and tolerant in this respect. Jiang Zemin proposed a series of innovative ideas in the report delivered at the 16th CPC National Congress. "We may discuss how to end the cross-straits hostility formally. We may also discuss the international space in which the Taiwan region may conduct economic, cultural and social activities compatible with its status, or discuss the political status of Taiwan authorities or other issues." As long as the two sides agree on the one-China principle, all topics are open for negotiations on an equal footing. Even sensitive political issues can be fully discussed until an acceptable solution is found.

Qian noted that the year 2003 marked the 10th anniversary of the Wang-Koo Talks¨Cwhen the leaders of the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) held the first talks and signed relevant agreements, marking a historic step forward in cross-straits relations. An important reason for the success of the talks is that ARATS and SEF reached a consensus on expressing respectively, in words of mouth, that "both sides of the straits uphold the one-China principle." The consensus displayed the political wisdom of Chinese across the straits. Such historic experience and hard-gained achievements are worth cherishing.

There is but one China in the world, and both the mainland and Taiwan are part of China. China's sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division. The advocacy of "one country on each side [of the straits]" is bound to be unpopular. Any attempt to separate Taiwan from China is definitely not allowed, while resorting to collaboration with external forces for military confrontation is bound to fail.

Closer contact of compatriots across the straits

In 2002, nearly 3 million Taiwan compatriots visited the mainland. Meanwhile, the mainland conducted over 4,000 exchange and inspection projects involving approximately 40,000 people, marking a year-on-year increase of 50 percent and 55 percent respectively.

Active Taiwan investment. In 2002, the indirect trade volume between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits surpassed $40 billion. The mainland replaced the United States to become the largest export market of Taiwan. Investment by Taiwan businesses in the mainland grew continuously. From January to November, the amount of contracted Taiwanese investment in the mainland increased by 3 percent and the amount of investment actually utilized was up 30 percent.

Charter flight service. From the end of December 2002 to the beginning of January 2003, six airlines of Taiwan, such as the Far Eastern Air Transport and China Airlines, applied to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for providing charter service from Taipei/Kaohsiung to Shanghai's Pudong Airport, which were approved. The first charter flight, China Airlines C1586, started from Taipei at 3:55 a.m. January 26, touched down in Hong Kong before reaching Shanghai, and returned to Taipei at 3:40 p.m. the same day carrying more than 240 Taiwanese going home for the Spring Festival.

Some people on the mainland commented that the event, as a result of joint efforts of compatriots and civil aviation sectors across the straits, would serve as a valuable experience for the future opening of aviation services between the mainland and Taiwan. But the charter air service was after all a one-way "indirect flight.¡± As already noted, current exchanges between the two sides involve 3 million people and there are more than 60,000 Taiwanese-funded firms in the mainland, while trade tops $40 billion a year. Considering such a huge flow of personnel and goods, only two-way direct air and shipping services can fundamentally meet the increasing personnel and trade exchanges across the straits.

Taiwan's European flights by way of the mainland. In late March 2003, the Iraq war broke out. To ensure the security of Taiwan civil flights, the mainland allowed Taiwan's China Airlines flights to use the mainland's open air-route to Central Asia and Europe. At the night of March 27, China Airlines C1065 set off in Taipei, stopped briefly in Bangkok and directly flew to Amsterdam by way of the mainland's Kunming, Chengdu, Lanzhou and Urumqi. The whole journey saved 15-30 minutes. It was the first time a Taiwan civil aircraft flew through mainland air space.