Mainland commemorates major policy change on Taiwan 30 years ago

Photo taken on Dec. 31, 2008 shows a

ceremony commemorating the 30th anniversary of the announcement of Message

to Compatriots in Taiwan held in Beijing, capital of China. The Chinese

mainland commemorated the 30th anniversary of the announcement of Message

to Compatriots in Taiwan here Wednesday with a ceremony attended by three

top leaders including President Hu Jintao. (Chinese media

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BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Chinese media) -- The Chinese mainland

commemorated the 30th anniversary of the announcement of Message to Compatriots

in Taiwan here Wednesday with a ceremony attended by three top leaders including

President Hu Jintao.

The Standing Committee of National People's Congress

(NPC), China's top legislature, issued the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan on

Jan. 1, 1979.

In this statement, the mainland first proposed to end

the military confrontation across the Taiwan Strait through dialog and welcomed

exchanges between the two sides.

Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee,

presided over the ceremony with Jia Qinglin, chairman of the Chinese People's

Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, also at present.

"The landmark statement elaborated our new policy on

Taiwan issue and has brought the cross-Strait relations into a new stage," said

Li Jianguo, deputy chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, in a speech at the

ceremony.

Chinese mainland announces ten

measures for co-op with Taiwan

SHANGHAI, Dec. 21 (Chinese media) -- The Chinese mainland

announced here on Sunday 10 measures of economic cooperation with Taiwan aimed

at jointly coping with the global financial crisis.

The measures include the support for the development of

Taiwanese-funded companies in the mainland, promotion of two-way investment and

so on, said Wang Yi, director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party

of China Central Committee, at the conclusion of the 4th Cross-Straits Economic,

Trade and Cultural Forum. Full story

Chinese mainland, Taiwan start direct

links after 59 years

Passengers from southeast China's Taiwan

gesture before boarding the plane at the airport in Shenzhen, south

China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 15, 2008. A Shenzhen Airlines flight took

off from the Shenzhen Airport for Taiwan at 7:20 Beijing Time (2320 GMT

Dec. 14), the first when the Chinese mainland and Taiwan started direct

air and sea transport and postal services Monday morning. (Chinese media

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BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Chinese media) -- The Chinese mainland and

Taiwan started direct air and sea transport and postal services on Monday amid

warming ties, ending a 59-year ban on such links.

Formerly, air and sea movements -- including mail -- had

to go by way of a third place.

The direct daily transport started as a mainland-based

Shenzhen Airlines flight took off from the Shenzhen Airport for Taipei at 7:20

a.m.(2320 GMT Sunday), which was followed by a Taiwan-based TransAsia Airways

jetliner from Taipei to Shanghai. Full story

Mainland panda pair leave for

Taiwan

Photo taken on Dec. 11, 2008 shows the

giant Pandas Tuan Tuan (L) and Yuan Yuan, who will be sent to Taiwan, eat

bamboos in a breeding base in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

This pair of giant pandas is scheduled to travel to the Taiwan island on

Dec. 23. They are expected to meet the public at the Spring Festival, the

Chinese lunar new year, but that will depend on how they adapt to the new

environment.
(Chinese media Photo)
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YA'AN, Sichuan, Dec. 23 (Chinese media) -- A pair of giant pandas

offered by the Chinese mainland to Taiwan left here Tuesday for the island.

The pandas left Ya'an, Sichuan, at around 8:20 a.m. in an

enclosed truck. They would first be transported to Sichuan's provincial capital

of Chengdu, about 120 km from Ya'an, and then be flown to Taiwan on Tuesday

afternoon. Full story

Mainland, Taiwan hold economic,

cultural forum

The 4th Cross-Straits Economic, Trade

and Cultural Forum between the Chinese mainland and southeast China's

Taiwan begins in Shanghai, east China, Dec. 20, 2008. (Chinese media

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SHANGHAI, Dec. 20 (Chinese media) -- The 4th Cross-Straits

Economic, Trade and Cultural Forum between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan began

here Saturday morning.

Jia Qinglin, member of the Standing Committee of the

Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, and

Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung and Honorary Chairman Lien Chan

attended. Full story