CPC, KMT to commemorate breakthrough

The Communist Party of China (CPC) on the mainland and the Kuomintang (KMT) party in Taiwan will commemorate the achievements of the meeting between leaders of two parties in 2005, a mainland official said on Wednesday.

A symposium and a photo exhibit will be held later this month in Nanjing to commemorate the publication of the "common aspiration and prospects for cross-Strait peace and development", Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan affairs office, said during a regular press conference.

The "common aspiration and prospects" was the outcome of a meeting between Hu Jintao, then general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and Lien Chan, then KMT chairman, in 2005, the first between leaders of the two parties in 60 years.

Ma said the "common aspiration and prospects" which endorsed the 1992 Consensus and opposed to "Taiwan independence" has facilitated breakthroughs in cross-Strait ties since 2008.

A question was raised at the press conference that all the ideas detailed in the document have been realized but one; "putting an end to hostility, and reaching a peace agreement".

Ma said in response that cross-Strait ties have made great headway, particularly in economic cooperation and exchanges in various fields, and the mainland is willing to seek solutions on political grounds under the framework of one China. Endi