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 Ma Ying-jeou, president of self-ruled, democratic Taiwan, where
anti-Beijing sentiment has been rising ahead of elections, called
for mutual respect for each other's systems and said Taiwan people
were concerned about mainland missiles pointing their way.
The talks, at a luxury hotel in the neutral venue of Singapore,
lasted less than an hour but were heavy with symbolism.
The two leaders shook hands and smiled in front of a mass of
journalists when they met, with Xi wearing a red tie, the color of
the Communist Party, and Ma a blue one, the color of his Nationalist
Party.
Moving into a meeting room, Xi, speaking first and sitting opposite
Ma, said Chinese people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait had
the ability and wisdom to solve their own problems.
"No force can pull us apart because we are brothers who are still
connected by our flesh even if our bones are broken, we are a family
in which blood is thicker than water," Xi said.
In response, Ma said he was determined to promote peace across the
Taiwan Strait and that relations should be based on sincerity,
wisdom and patience.
Ma also asked Xi indirectly to respect Taiwan's democracy.
"Both sides should respect each other's values and way of life to
ensure mutual benefit and a win-win situation across the straits,"
he said.
China's Nationalists, also known as the Kuomintang (KMT), retreated
to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists, who are
still in charge in Beijing.
The mainland has never renounced the use of force to bring what it
considers a breakaway province under its control.
Speaking to reporters after the talks, Ma said he hoped Xi could pay
attention to China's missile deployment - the island has long
fretted about batteries pointed its way - to which Xi replied that
was not an issue about Taiwan, he said.
"I at least raised the issue, and told him that the Taiwanese people
have questions and concerns about it, and hope he will treat it with
importance," Ma said.
Zhang Zhijun, the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said Xi
told Ma that the biggest threat to the peaceful development of
relations was pro-independence forces.
"The compatriots on both sides should unite and firmly oppose it,"
Zhang said. OPPOSITION DISAPPOINTED
The meeting comes ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections
on Taiwan which the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP) is favored to win, something Beijing is desperate to
avoid.
Speaking in Taiwan, DPP leader and presidential candidate Tsai
Ing-wen said she was disappointed Ma made no direct mention of
Taiwan's freedom and democracy.
"We had expected President Ma to talk about Taiwan's democracy,
freedom and the existence of the Republic of China," she said, in
comments carried on Taiwan television stations, referring to
Taiwan's official name.
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"More importantly, the Taiwan people's right to choose freely. But
he did not say a word of that."
While bilateral trade, investment and tourism have blossomed -
particularly since Ma and his KMT took power in 2008 - there is deep
suspicion on both sides and no progress has been made on any sort of
political settlement.
No agreements had been expected in what was seen as a highly
symbolic get-together in Singapore, a largely ethnic Chinese
city-state that has maintained good ties with both for decades.
Protocol problems loomed large for democratic Taiwan and autocratic
China and the two addressed each other as "mister" to avoid using
the word "president", as neither officially recognizes the other as
head of state.
Further underscoring China's sensitivities, state television only
showed Xi's comments live, cutting away when Ma began to speak,
prompting a flurry of complaints on Chinese social media about
censorship. It later showed a recording of Ma's opening remarks.
TAIWAN PROTESTS
The meeting comes as Xi hopes to cement his place among China's
pantheon of great leaders and Ma, stepping down next year due to
term limits, tries to shape his legacy marred by growing
anti-Beijing feeling in Taiwan.
While China is laudatory, concerns have been raised in Taiwan, and
on Saturday a few hundred people took to the streets in Taipei to
protest against the meeting.
"Though he said he won't sign any agreements there, the Ma-Xi
meeting itself shows there will definitely be some discussions or
negotiations which have not been approved of by Taiwan's people,"
said protester Sung Yun-chuan.
Ma and Xi were due to have dinner together before flying out of
Singapore separately.
Ma was due to present Xi bottles of spirits made on two groups of
islands just off the mainland that have been occupied by Taiwan
forces since the end of the civil war.
He would also present Xi with a ceramic sculpture of a Taiwan blue
magpie perched on a leafy green branch as a gift for their first
meeting, a bird unique to the island, Taiwan's presidential office
said.
(Additional reporting by Lee Chyen Yee, and Faith Hung and Damon Lin
in Taipei; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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