Jia Qinglin, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), meets participants of the second Strait Forum in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, on June 19, 2010(Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
In 2008, the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) resumed talks following a nine-year suspension.
A high-level platform for policy negotiations across the Strait, the ARATS-SEF talks resulted in the signing of twelve agreements. The shared aspiration for direct air links, shipping services and mail services across the Strait was achieved at the end of 2008.
Wang said though the goal of "three direct links" has been achieved, the mainland and Taiwan still need to work for closer interaction between the people on both sides of the Strait so they will feel increasingly connected to each other.
New Party chairman Yok Mu-ming said exchanges across the Strait should be carried out on a regular basis as water should be kept flowing lest it become stagnant
