Both sides need peace, Xi tells KMT leader in Beijing

The trend that compatriots from both sides of the Taiwan Strait will get closer and get together will not change, Xi Jinping said, as he met the head of the Chinese Kuomintang Party in Beijing on Friday. Xi, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, also told visiting Cheng Li-wun that as one family, compatriots on both sides need peace, development, communication and cooperation. Xi also expressed his willingness to improve communication with different political parties, groups, and people from all walks of life in Taiwan, provided such dialogue is based on the 1992 consensus and the common political basis of opposing Taiwan independence. He also stressed that the future of cross-Strait relations must firmly remain in the hands of the Chinese people. "The world is undergoing a period of accelerated change, a once-in-a-century transformation," he said. "But no matter how the global situation changes, or how the situation in the Taiwan Strait changes, the general direction of human development and progress will not change. The trend of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will not change." In response, Cheng expressed the wish that the Taiwan Strait will no longer be a flashpoint for conflict, or a "chessboard" for external interference. She hoped to jointly push for cross-Strait peace under the 1992 Consensus and the common political basis of opposing Taiwan independence, and establish a institutionalised and sustainable dialogue and cooperation mechanism. Cheng, who accepted an invitation from Xi and the CPC Central Committee, is the first KMT leader to lead a delegation to the mainland in the past decade. The delegation had visited Jiangsu province and Shanghai before arriving in Beijing on Thursday. Edited by Altis Wong