'One Family, Who Wants Peace,' Xi Tells Taiwan Opposition Leader In Rare Meeting - Top Updates

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Chinese President Xi Jinpin met Cheng Li-wun, a senior Taiwanese opposition figure, on Friday in Beijing. Cheng is the first leader of the Kuomintang (KMT) to head a party delegation to mainland China on a week-long visit in over a decade.

The meeting is being closely watched around the world as the Chinese leader stepped up efforts to reunify Taiwan, strictly enforcing its One-China policy since he took over in 2012, and assigning it a high military and diplomatic priority.

China claims Taiwan as part of it and pledges to reunite it with the mainland.

Here are the top things that were discussed in the meeting:

China and Taiwan should work together to“avoid war”, Cheng Li-wun told Xi during the meeting “Both sides should transcend political confrontation... and seek a systemic solution to prevent and avoid war, so that the Taiwan Strait can become a model for peaceful conflict resolution in the world.”

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Cheng told Xi that she hoped that through the efforts of both parties, the Taiwan Strait will no longer be a focal point of potential conflict, and will certainly not become a "chessboard for outside forces to intervene in". Both sides of the strait should further plan and build institutionalised and sustainable mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation, she added. Xi Jinping said that he was "full of confidence" that Chinese and Taiwanese people would be united, as the two held a rare meeting. “The general trend of compatriots on both sides of the Strait getting closer, edging nearer and becoming united will not change. This is an inevitable part of history. We have full confidence in this.” Xi told Cheng that today's world is not entirely at peace, and peace is precious. “Compatriots on both sides of the strait are all Chinese - people of one family who want peace, development, exchange, and cooperation,” he said, in comments carried by Taiwan television stations.

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“This is the common voice of our people. The leaders of our two parties are meeting today in order to safeguard the peace and stability of our shared homeland, to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and to allow future generations to share in a bright and beautiful future.”

Meanwhile, China refuses to talk to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a "separatist". Lai Ching-te's administration has urged Cheng Li-wun to press China to halt its threats, saying Beijing should instead engage directly with Taiwan's democratically elected government in Taipei.

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