Another important point is that, unlike the first talks between Wang Daohan, late ARATS President, and Koo Chen-fu, late SEF Chairman, in 1993, the resumed talks this time were not held in a neutral venue, other than the mainland and Taiwan. In the past 15 years, the political and economic environment, as well as international environment has changed. The time that cross-straits talks needed the help of a third party has gone. This change brings forth the new concept that the fate and future of cross-straits relations should lie at the hands of people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kun's formal invitation for ARATS President Chen Yunlin to visit Taiwan indicates that the time is ripe for ARATS' chief to land on the island. This will not only fulfill Wang Daohan's unrealized hope to visit Taiwan in his twilight years, but also represent an important step forward for the normalization of relations between ARATS and SEF.

Successful experiences

The resumption of ARATS-SEF talks symbolizes a new chapter of peaceful development in cross-straits relations. The most important achievements of the talks this time are the reestablishment of the channel and mechanism for regular negotiations across the Taiwan Straits, which can lay a solid foundation for mid- and long-term interaction. The goal proposed by CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao to "resume cross-straits negotiations and achieve tangible results" has been met. Cross-straits economic and trade relations will embrace a more open era, and there will be a gradual transition from one-way exchanges to two-way exchanges.

Both sides can draw a lot of experiences from the resumption of talks. Apart from putting aside disputes and negotiating on an equal footing, the most important experience is the "relay negotiation model." Before ARATS and SEF reached the formal agreements on weekend cross-straits charter flights and mainland tourists' visit to Taiwan, scholars and experts from both sides of the straits had carried out preliminary assessments, followed by talks between relevant industrial associations and between the CPC and several Taiwan parties. These dialogue platforms all contributed to the signing of the formal agreements. Therefore, after regular ARATS-SEF negotiations become the major channel for cross-straits talks, it's very important to establish a multi-level negotiation system and continue to bring into play the role of dialogues between political parties, academicians and industrial associations. This is expected to help future cross-straits negotiations on political issues.

The reality that the two sides across the straits resumed talks also tells the Democratic Progressive Party that the "Taiwan independence" road is doomed to fail. Only by setting the Taiwan people's benefits as the priority and returning to the one-China principle, can both sides across the Taiwan Straits launch effective negotiations and push cross-straits relations toward reconciliation, cooperation, peace and prosperity.

People can expect to see the peaceful development of relations across the straits, but the foundation for mutual trust is still fragile. The resumption of ARATS-SEF talks follows the principle of "first [resolve the] easy topics and then the hard ones, and first the economy and then politics." This principle highlights the crucial function of economic exchanges and cooperation in the overall development of cross-straits relations. The increasingly close direct economic and trade links across the Taiwan Straits will further stabilize bilateral relations and consolidate common interests. In the immediate following period, cross-straits negotiations should still focus on economic exchanges and cooperation. By further probing into the establishment of a bilateral economic cooperation mechanism, efforts should be intensified to promote the overall normalization of cross-straits economic and trade relations. This is a full reflection of the guiding principle for developing cross-straits relations that is to seek common well-being for people on both sides.

After all, the resumption of talks and the signing of the two agreements are just the first steps toward the peaceful development of cross-straits relations. Various problems are surely to follow, and people must have a clear mind about this. How to make cross-straits negotiations a long-term process and how to make the current negotiation mechanism an important platform to consolidate cross-straits mutual trust are still testing the wisdom of the Chinese on both sides of the straits.

1992 Consensus

In a formal discussion in Hong Kong in 1992, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) established the "1992 Consensus," which says both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan recognize there is only one China, but agree to differ on its definition. Under this consensus, both organizations held a series of negotiations on cross-straits economic cooperation during the following years. ARATS President Wang Daohan and SEF Chairman Koo Chen-fu met in Singapore and Shanghai in 1993 and 1998, respectively.

Negotiations between ARATS and SEF were halted after 1999 when Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui put forth the "two states theory" on mainland-Taiwan relations in pursuit of "Taiwan independence."