The president also addressed cross-strait relations, saying that he sought to improve relations with mainland China since he took office in 2008. Progress has been made on many levels, with the two sides having signed 21 agreements and reached consensus on two issues. In addition, the heads of the agencies on either side responsible for cross-strait affairs held discussions three times last year and referred to each other using their official titles, which was unprecedented. The president said that this is the substantive result of pursuing the development of peace under the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintain its own interpretation of what that means.
The president remarked that mainland Chinese have made about 14 million visits to Taiwan over the past seven years, with 3.94 million of these visits being made last year alone. The number of visits has increased considerably compared with before he took office. Meanwhile, the number of mainland students coming to Taiwan to study has risen from over 800 prior to his taking office to over 32,000 presently. The growth exhibited in this data reflects the strong improvement in cross-strait relations, and countries throughout the world, including the United States, have expressed their support for peaceful interaction between the two sides, he said. US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel this past February applauded the progress in cross-strait relations and said it is conducive to the stable development of Taiwan-US relations.
【Source: Office of the President】