Taiwan And Chinese Leaders Meet For First Time In 66 Years

President Ma Ying-jeou called Taiwan the "Republic of China" during talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the Taiwanese leader aimed to fend off opposition criticism that he is too cozy with Beijing and stress that the leaders met as equals. The two leaders shook hands at the start of a historic meeting, marking the first top level contact between the formerly bitter Cold War foes since they split amid civil war 66 years ago.

President Xi Jinping and Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou.

Ma met with Xi in Singapore on Saturday in an historic summit which marked the first time Chinese and Taiwanese presidents have met in their official capacities since 1949.

"Today we are sitting together so as not to replay the tragedies of history", Mr. Xi said before reporters were ushered out of what was scheduled to be an hourlong discussion.

"We should consolidate the 1992 Consensus, and maintain the peaceful status quo", Ma said in one of his five-point proposals.

Political observers said relations between China and Taiwan have improved tremendously under the leadership of President Ma since he took office in 2008.

On the other side, Mr Ma made it clear that he believed that both parties should "respect each other's values and way of life".

He cited that in the past seven years, the two sides have signed a total of 23 agreements, with over 40,000 students exchanging across the Strait, over 8 million cross-Strait tourists annually, and an annual trade volume worth over 170 billion USA dollars. However Mr Ma has established himself as creating closer links to China and there is a presidential election in the country in January so he may view the meeting as boosting his party's candidate, now behind in the poles.

"I call for (a) reduction of hostility, and for the resolution of disputes with peaceful measures", he said.

Protocol problems loom large for democratic Taiwan and autocratic China.

The mainland has never renounced the use of force to bring what it considers a breakaway province under its control.

This means both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is only one China containing Taiwan as a part, shelving the question of whether this China is the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China. Xi and Ma smiled broadly and clasped hands for well over a minute.

Ma's political party the Kuomintang' has been seen as pro-Beijing, paving the way for warmer ties between the two sides. The "1992 Consensus" is usually phrased as an accord on "one China, respective interpretations".

That's the kind of behavior not only Taiwan but also other Asian nations want to see China exhibit.

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.