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Ma shows approval of Hu’s ‘16-word maxim’ on relations

President-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) expressed appreciation on Saturday for a “16-word maxim” that Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) delivered recently concerning cross-strait relations.

Ma was referring to Hu’s statement during a meeting in Beijing with former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰), when he said that China and Taiwan should “seek to build mutual trust, shelve disputes, seek common ground while reserving differences, and create ‘win-win’ development.”

“Hu’s remarks will serve as an important guide in turning a new page in the development of cross-strait relations,” Ma said during a conversation with a group of retired military commanders at an evening gathering, according to a news release issued by Ma’s campaign office around 1am yesterday.

Hu’s remarks were somewhat similar to a “16-word appeal” that vice president-elect Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) spelled out at the Boao Forum for Asia last month in Hainan, China, calling for the two sides of the strait to “face reality, create a new future, shelve disputes and seek ‘win-win’ approaches.”

Ma told the former defense ministers and chiefs of general staff — including Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村), Chiang Chung-ling (蔣仲苓), Hsu Li-nung (�?A), Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) and Lee Tien-yu (李天羽) — that Taiwan must take a path of reconciliation if the country wants long-term peace and stability, the news release said.

The “path” refers to reconciliation between the KMT-led pan-blue alliance and the Democratic Progressive Party-led pan-green camp, among people of different ethnic groups, between northern and southern Taiwan and between Taiwan and China, Ma said.

Noting that cross-strait reconciliation is a road that must be taken, Ma said as long as the two sides engage with each other more closely and try to better understand each other, cross-strait tensions will naturally diminish.

Ma told the veterans that he would try his utmost soon after his inauguration on May 20 to facilitate the opening of cross-strait charter flight services and to allow Chinese citizens to visit Taiwan for tourism purposes, the news release said.
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