China pledges reconciliation with Taiwan

By Benjamin Kang Lim

BEIJING (Reuters) - China vowed on Thursday to seize a chance for reconciliation with Taiwan and respect the desire of Taiwan's people to be their own masters, a sign it is in no hurry to bring the island it claims as its own back to the fold.

Chinese Minister of Taiwan Affairs Chen Yunlin, speaking two days after Ma Ying-jeou became Taiwan's new president, ending the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party's troubled eight-year rule, said both sides were making "positive" efforts to resume negotiations. There is no timetable for talks.

"We understand, trust and care about Taiwan compatriots and respect the desire of Taiwan compatriots to be masters of their own destiny," Chen said in a statement carried by the official Xinhua news agency.

It was China's first response to Ma's inauguration speech on Tuesday in which he offered to reopen dialogue but pledged to maintain Taipei's self-rule and separate international profile.

China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since their split in 1949 when Mao Zedong's Red Army won the civil war and drove Chiang Kai-shek's defeated Nationalists troops fleeing to Taiwan.

In an overture, Chen said China and Taiwan faced a "rare and important opportunity" for reconciliation after Ma won the March presidential elections by a landslide.

But China would "continue to oppose and contain 'Taiwan independence' splittist activities", Chen said.

"CREATING A WIN-WIN"