Taiwan's objective is to "maintain peace and stability" between itself and mainland China, the island's president said. But Beijing remains wary, saying Tsai's new government has yet to recognize the "1992 consensus."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Saenz
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Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Taipei will continue to maintain dialogue with China after Beijing unilaterally suspended a communication mechanism with Taiwan.
"No matter what party is in government in Taiwan, we always have a single objective: to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," Tsai said at a press conference during an official visit to Paraguay, its sole diplomatic ally in South America.
"We will continue the dialogue with mainland China, as even though, probably at this moment official negotiation channels have been temporarily interrupted, there still exist other options for communication and dialogue," she added.
Since 2008, Taipei and Beijing have witnessed a thaw in diplomatic relations after Taiwan's China-friendly then-President Ma Ying-jeou signed a series of historic trade and tourism deals with the mainland.
However, China remains wary of the election of Tsai, who heads Taiwan's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, fearing the new president may push for formal independence.
China's civil war pitted communist forces against the ruling nationalists, prompting the latter to flee to Taiwan in 1949.
The conflict effectively resulted in two de facto states comprising the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China in Taiwan.
China & Taiwan's 70 year cold war
In the first summit between the two countries in six decades, China and Taiwan's top leaders held talks in Singapore on Saturday. Taiwan broke away from China following the 1945-9 Chinese civil war.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/R. Beck
Animosity has lasted nearly seven decades
China and Taiwan split in 1949 following the rise of Communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. China's nationalist President Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan - which was then a backwater island.
In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek established a "provisional" Republic of China capital in Taipei. Post-war economic conditions caused severe inflation which left the island's tiny population impoverished for many years.
Image: Getty Images/T. Lions
Taiwan prospers without the motherland
Over the past six decades, Taiwan has experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth, becoming known as one of the "Four Asian Tigers."
Image: AP
Rise of China
In the past 30 years, China has brushed off Communism in all but name, rising to become the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP. China insists Taiwan is part of its territory. But Taiwan maintains it is a sovereign state and a democracy.
Image: Getty Images
US arms sales
In 2011, Taiwan upgraded its F-16 fighter fleet at a cost of $.5.3 billion (4.9 billion euros). China denounced the sale of arms from the US, warning at the time that it would damage Sino-American military and security ties.
Image: AP
South China Sea diputes
Taiwan and China are currently locked in territorial disputes over the South China Sea. China's claims over most of area, along with its massive land reclamation projects in the Spratly islands, have annoyed much of the rest of Asia.
Image: Reuters/U.S. Navy
'We are one family'
Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the relations between Beijing and Taipei, saying that "we are brothers...still connected by our flesh even if our bones are broken." In response, Ma called on China to respect Taiwan's democracy.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Rahman
Protesters not convinced by China's overtures
In the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, about 500 people took to the streets to protest against the meeting between the two leaders. Many are skeptical as to whether ties with China will allow the territory's democracy to be maintained.
Image: Reuters/P. Chuang
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Relations at risk?
Meanwhile, Beijing on Saturday announced it would cut a regular communication mechanism since Taiwan's new government did not recognize the "1992 consensus," an agreement that mainland China and Taiwan comprised a single entity, despite difference on how it is defined.
"People cannot help but ask - why does Taiwan want to change the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait that has been in place since 2008? What is the aim?" said An Fengshan, a spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office.
But Taiwanese Premier Lin Chuan responded to the suspension on Wednesday, saying Taipei desires positive interactions with the mainland.
"There must be willingness on both sides to move forward on the relationship," Lin told reporters.
