The president added that Germany in the 1970s addressed relations between the two Germanys based on the "one Germany, two states" concept (ein Deutschland - zwei Staaten), which inspired the ROC's promotion of cross-strait relations. For instance, much like the Federal Ministry for Intra-German Relations that was set up to handle affairs involving the two Germanys, the ROC established the Mainland Affairs Council under the Executive Yuan to handle cross-strait affairs. East Germany and West Germany, the president said, in 1972 also signed the Basic Treaty, which separates sovereignty from jurisdiction, and is similar to his advocacy of "mutual non-recognition of sovereignty, and mutual non-denial of governing authority" concept for both sides of the Taiwan Strait. These kinds of ideas can serve as a reference point for Taiwan in handling cross-strait relations, the president stated.
The president also mentioned that Germany and France engaged in large-scale student exchange programs following World War II, helping young people from those two countries to forge friendships. This subsequently was extremely helpful in fostering relations between Germany and France and turned out to be quite a visionary policy, he said. In the same vein, the number of mainland Chinese students studying in Taiwan has increased from some 800 before he took office 2008 to over 32,000 today. This allows young people from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to interact starting at an early age, which helps the development of cross-strait relations, according to the president.
【Source: Office of the President】