Regarding cross-strait relations, President Ma said that over the past eight years, Taiwan has sought under the framework of the ROC Constitution to maintain the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" in the Taiwan Strait, and to seek peaceful cross-strait relations in line with the 1992 Consensus—whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. Before he took office there were no direct, regularly scheduled cross-strait flights, but now there are 120 per day, and the cumulative number of tourist arrivals from the mainland has topped 18 million.
Sufficient cross-strait trust has been built up, said the president, to enable a meeting in Singapore on November 7 of last year between himself and mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平), predicated on the principles of equality and dignity, where the two sides exchanged views on how to consolidate peace in the Taiwan Strait and maintain the cross-strait status quo. This was the first such meeting since the two sides came under separate rule 66 years earlier. The Economist even stated that "The summit was perhaps the biggest concession on a 'core issue' of sovereignty any Chinese leader has made since the early 1980s." The improvement in cross-strait relations is conducive to stability in Taiwan, mainland China, the larger region, and even the entire world. The US government also issued a statement, saying that "The United States welcomes the meeting between leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait…, and we encourage further progress by both sides toward building ties, reducing tensions, and promoting stability on the basis of dignity and respect."
【Source: Office of the President】