At the NPC session, Premier Wen Jiabao offered a “modest olive branch” to Taiwan, the New York Times reports:
In his opening speech to the National People’s Congress, Mr. Wen clearly signaled the Chinese leadership’s support for a series of economic measures that negotiators from Beijing and Taipei are already discussing. These include the gradual integration of banking and other financial services across the Taiwan Straits, and the drafting of a “comprehensive agreement on economic cooperation” that could eventually become the basis for a free-trade agreement.
Mr. Wen also called for “fair and reasonable arrangements” on Taiwanese participation in international organizations and a formal cessation of hostilities with Taiwan, without providing any details on how either of these thorny goals could be achieved. And he did not mention any specific measures of military cooperation, like a possible hotline between the People’s Liberation Army and the Taiwanese military establishment, even though President Hu Jintao of China and President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan have each expressed some interest in this in recent months.
