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    Historic China-Taiwan meet scheduled

    November 04, 2015

    Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Singapore this weekend, the two sides said, in what will be the first meeting between leaders from the rivals since the end of a civil war in 1949.

    The two presidents will "exchange views on cross-Strait issues" Ma's spokesmanCharles Chen said Tuesday, referring to the stretch of water separating mainlandChina and Taiwan.

     

    The intention of the visit is to "secure cross-Strait peace," but no agreement will be signed, he said.

     

    China confirmed the meeting in a short dispatch on the state Xinhua news agencyearly Wednesday, saying the two sides would "exchange views on promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations".

     

    The surprise meeting follows a gradual warming of relations with Beijing since Ma of the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) came to power in 2008.

     

    Ma will step down next year after a maximum two terms and the main oppositionChina-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is expected to win the presidential election in January.

     

    A senior DPP spokesman has told local media the party would not comment until further details of the visit were released.

     

    The KMT suffered its heaviest-ever local election defeat last year, with its China-friendly strategy a major factor.

     

    But Ma has repeatedly defended his China-friendly policies, saying they have brought stability to the region.

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