The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vincent Siew, honorary chairman of the Taiwan-based Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation, in Bali Island, Indonesia on the morning of Oct. 6, 2013 signaled the willingness for political negotiations between the two sides. President Xi put it very straightforwardly at the meeting: "the long-existing political divergence between the two sides should be solved step by step, not shelved for generations."

The time for political negotiations seems ripe, but the question now is how to start.

Before commencing the political negotiations, there should be a clear-cut goal. Under the current political framework, the goal should be the peaceful reunification of the two sides. We should build a consensus on peaceful reunification both on the mainland and in Taiwan. As there seems to be no consensus in the Taiwan's society on this political goal, we should work "step by step" through closer economic, cultural and social exchanges to settle the differences. Although the goal may not be achieved in our generation, the negotiations should at least be started now.

To start the political negotiations, the legitimacy of the two sides should be mutually recognized under the political basis of "upholding the one-China principle." As the "1992 consensus" describes, both sides recognize there is only "one China" – both the mainland and Taiwan belong to the same China, but both sides agree to interpret the meaning of "one China" according to their own individual definition. "China" in the mainland refers to the People's Republic of China (PRC) while in Taiwan it refers to the Republic of China (ROC). The PRC's position is that the PRC is the sole legitimate representative of China's sovereignty in the international arena. Despite the ambiguity in the expression "one China", it aligns with the political basis, and might not be the biggest roadblock in the "step-by-step" political process. Instead, the negotiations should focus on domestic political issues, i.e. the political relations between the two sides. After all, it is better to move forward a step than stand still.

So where is the starting point for the negotiations? The most appropriate one might be to establish representative offices for negotiations on both sides. This could strengthen the mutual consultation. The two sides could reach a consensus on the political status, locations, personnel, and obligations of the offices. Once they are established, it would be hard to reverse cross-Straits relations. This is a relatively easy step but it would be of great political significance.

As an old Chinese saying goes, it is the first step that is the most difficult to make. Cross-Straits relations have experienced ups and downs, but political negotiations are now on the agenda. This is a great opportunity that we must grasp.

This post was translated by Liu Qiang. Its original unabridged version was published in Chinese.

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