Breaking News, World News and Taiwan News.

Updated Monday, March 15, 2010 9:28 am TWN, AFP

China premier still hopes to visit Taiwan one day

BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Sunday he hoped one day to visit Taiwan, amid warming relations between Beijing and the self-ruled island.

“Differences between brothers cannot sever their blood ties and I believe that problems will eventually be solved,” Wen told a press conference at the end of China's annual session of parliament.

“I still cherish a very strong wish to visit Taiwan one day,” he added, noting that 5,000 years of shared culture and history should not be swept away because of “political developments” over the past 60 years.

Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949 at the end of a bloody civil war. China still considers Taiwan part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Tensions have however eased markedly since Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008 on a China-friendly platform.

China and Taiwan are in negotiations on a major trade pact, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, which is expected to boost trade across the Taiwan Strait by easing barriers.

Taipei hopes to sign the pact in May or June to help boost economic growth and employment. The first round of negotiations on the pact took place in January.

Wen earlier this month hailed the thaw in relations with Taiwan, saying ties had in 2009 “made important progress from a historic new starting point, and a positive trend toward peaceful development emerged.”

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

Share

Print

Email

Comments

March 15, 2010 the_alliance47@

Wen Jiabao is clearly misinformed. Taiwan has only shared a culture with China proper for 500 years, not 5000. He also fails to understand that the Republic of China will NOT be bullied by the Chinese Communist Party. If he wants to talk, our government will send officials to Beijing. It would be totally unacceptable for a high-ranking Communist Party member to set foot on Taiwan!

March 15, 2010 kpartsctr@

the_alliance47@ wrote:
Wen Jiabao is clearly misinformed. Taiwan has only shared a culture with China proper for 500 years, not 5000. He also fails to understand that the Republic of China will NOT be bullied by the Chinese Communist Party. If he wants to talk, our government will send officials to Beijing. It would be totally unacceptable for a high-ranking Communist Party member to set foot on Taiwan!

I am a 3rd generation Chinese living in Southeast Asia and has acquired a foreign citizenship by necessity. Although I am no longer fluent in Chinese, I am proud to say that I am a Chinese and I and my children will forever be Chinese! During the 50s and 60s, we have helped Taiwan aggressively because they told us they are the real Chinese. Actually most of Taiwan people's ancestors originated from province like mine. It is extremely shameful why you refuse to admit you are also Chinese....

March 15, 2010 johnny.brian@

The earliest settlers in Taiwan were not from China, but the aborigines (Malay & Polynesians). Only 500 yrs. ago were from Fukien, but brought 5,000 yrs old Chinese stuffs with them. Political problems are hard to solve.

March 16, 2010 joseyao2000@

Wen has expressed desire to visit Taiwan, the head of Taiwan should be gracious and invite Wen for a visit and reciprocate same gesture, things will hopefully come to normal.

March 16, 2010 skylarjones@

If Wen were to retire from the Communist Party, he should certainly be allowed to visit Taiwan as a tourist.

March 16, 2010 victorlowt@

NEVERE MIND THE POLITICS...JUST IMAGINE WHAT AN ECONOMIC POWER IT WOULD BE,ONCE TAIWAN & MAINLAND CHINA JOIN FORCES...this year alone, CHINA has surpassed both JAPAN & GERMANY's economies, and becomes # 2 in the world

LOWAITOK (edmonton)

March 16, 2010 cigars898@

victorlowt@ wrote:
NEVERE MIND THE POLITICS...JUST IMAGINE WHAT AN ECONOMIC POWER IT WOULD BE,ONCE TAIWAN & MAINLAND CHINA JOIN FORCES...this year alone, CHINA has surpassed both JAPAN & GERMANY's economies, and becomes # 2 in the world

LOWAITOK (edmonton)

Really? Let's take a look at what China has to gain and Taiwan has to lose. The GDP per capita of Taiwan is somewhere around 27th in the world. China is 97th. Looks like a step backwards to me. Oh yeah and that small problem of being controlled by a communist country. Very tempting but no thanks!

March 16, 2010 carltanong@

skylarjones@ wrote:
If Wen were to retire from the Communist Party, he should certainly be allowed to visit Taiwan as a tourist.

If Premier Wen of P.R.0.C. wish to visit R.0.C. Taiwan. Premier Wen will be welcome anytime with honor and respect. Anyway. R.0.C. And P.R.0.C. are all Chinese. Even we Overseas Chinese will be proud to tell the world that Chinese whether in the Mainland, in Taiwan or live in the four seas. We are CHINESE. Proud to tell the world that we CHINESE was a BIG FAMILY.

March 16, 2010 victorlowt@

kpartsctr@ wrote:
I am a 3rd generation Chinese living in Southeast Asia and has acquired a foreign citizenship by necessity. Although I am no longer fluent in Chinese, I am proud to say that I am a Chinese and I and my children will forever be Chinese! During the 50s and 60s, we have helped Taiwan aggressively because they told us they are the real Chinese. Actually most of Taiwan people's ancestors originated from province like mine. It is extremely shameful why you refuse to admit you are also Chinese....

TO MY FRIEND the_alliance47

we can just treat WEN as any other head of state to visit our wonderful ROC...look at it as a compliment to our country rather than a disgrace

that is how i look at it...you may look at it some other way

LOWAITOK (edmonton)

March 18, 2010 the_alliance47@

I am not saying that I am not Chinese; I am merely correcting Wen Jiabao's warped historical facts. In fact, the island of Taiwan used to be administered as part of Fujian Province and it wasn't until a couple hundred years ago that it became it's own province under Qing rule.

@victorlowt: Wen is not a head of state, because the head of state of China is President Ma Ying-jeou. Wen Jiabao is an official of the Chinese Communist Party, nothing more. It would be a major disgrace, because since the KMT came to Taiwan, no high-ranking CCP official has ever set foot on the island. It would illegitimize the ROC's claim that it is the government on Taiwan and further support the claim by the CCP that Taiwan is part of a proposed country called the People's Republic of China.

Taiwanese people are only Chinese, because they are citizens of the ROC.

March 18, 2010 carltanong@

@cigars898 03/16
R.O.C. and P.R.O.C. = CHINA
As you under estimate P.R.O.C. GDP as 97th. It makes me laugh.

Let me teach you some simple math... 97th minus 95th=2 and P.R.O.C. has overtaken Japan as #2 in GDP. Though USA was listed as #1, America has surmounted in debt with huge financial difficulties. If R.O.C. and P.R.O.C. join hands, I think you cigars898 will just continue to smoke and puff the smoke in your own face, because the DRAGON has AWAKEN. The DRAGON will move forward. Not stepping backward. Thank you very much.

March 19, 2010 johngalt@

carltanong@ wrote:
@cigars898 03/16
R.O.C. and P.R.O.C. = CHINA
As you under estimate P.R.O.C. GDP as 97th. It makes me laugh.

Let me teach you some simple math... 97th minus 95th=2 and P.R.O.C. has overtaken Japan as #2 in GDP. Though USA was listed as #1, America has surmounted in debt with huge financial difficulties. If R.O.C. and P.R.O.C. join hands, I think you cigars898 will just continue to smoke and puff the smoke in your own face, because the DRAGON has AWAKEN. The DRAGON will move forward. Not stepping backward. Thank you very much.

Cigars898 was referring to GDP per capita not GDP. Please read more carefully.
Dragon? That doesn't sound very friendly.

March 20, 2010 skylarjones@

@carltanong:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita

China does have a large economy. But its GDP is still worse off than other countries; GDP correlates with a countries' standard of living. This means that the Communist Party of China is rich. But the citizens of the PRC are not. This is list is of disposable income:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_per_capita_personal_income

Taiwan citizens rank #7 in the world in disposable income. I think this is the best measurement of the wealth of a nation, because it shows the wealth of individual citizens.

The PRC ranks 28th

March 21, 2010 gui@

I don't see why Taiwan will lose and only China will gain. The economies of Asia Pacific are back on growth only because there is China. Should China and Taiwan one day unite, it will be under the one country two systems principle. Hong Kong hasn't met too many problems so far. If additionally access to Taiwan is restricted for certain mainlanders like low wage workers and if the mainland and the rest of a unified China share a democratic based foreign policy with 4 equal members, then I would even support unification.

March 23, 2010 carltanong@

skylarjones@ wrote:
@carltanong:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita

China does have a large economy. But its GDP is still worse off than other countries; GDP correlates with a countries' standard of living. This means that the Communist Party of China is rich. But the citizens of the PRC are not. This is list is of disposable income:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_per_capita_personal_income

Taiwan citizens rank #7 in the world in disposable income. I think this is the best measurement of the wealth of a nation, because it shows the wealth of individual citizens.

The PRC ranks 28th

R.O.C. and P.R.O.C. belong to one family. That's reality. Nobody can change it. Nobody can break us up. Know what? Because the Dragon has awaken. From R.O.C.(Taiwan) to P.R.O.C. (Mainland) to the Four Seas. REMEMBER MY FRIENDS.
有水就有中國人.
Whether you like it or not, it's up to you. The Chinese will never be a 東亞病夫 from now on.

March 24, 2010 skylarjones@

carltanong@ wrote:
R.O.C. and P.R.O.C. belong to one family. That's reality. Nobody can change it. Nobody can break us up. Know what? Because the Dragon has awaken. From R.O.C.(Taiwan) to P.R.O.C. (Mainland) to the Four Seas. REMEMBER MY FRIENDS.
有水就有中國人.
Whether you like it or not, it's up to you. The Chinese will never be a 東亞病夫 from now on.

The PRC will always be a "Sick Man of Asia" if it doesn't get out of its head that it's no longer the "Sick Man of Asia". It's an odd thought because nobody in the world thinks that way of China anymore. I can only assume that it's the PRC's way of stoking nationalism.

March 28, 2010 carltanong@

To all Chinese whether you are living in the Mainland, Taiwan and in the four seas should remember what skylarjones 3/24 statements has still insisting and written "PRC will always be Sick Man of Asia.....". As long as your ancestor is Chinese, you are Chinese. To those pan green Chinese. Would you accept you are Sick Man of Asia? Would you pan green still wish to let the USA and the West to use R.O.C. Taiwan to become their playground like Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the worlds that we saw Death and Destruction?


Sponsors
▪	Save 70% for hotel in Shanghai and 6000 hotels, in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and all China.
▪	Get the best deals for Guangzhou Hotels or choose from more than 10,000 hotels in 499 Chinese cities.
▪	Find great real time deals on China Flights. Book flights to China or China domestic flights 24/7.
▪	Buy china wholesale products from reliable chinese wholesalers on DHgate.com!