Chinese media published some segments of the meeting between Song Tao, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, and Andrew Hsia, vice chairman of the Kuomintang.

The meeting comes amid renewed cross-strait tensions following the mainland fishing boat incident.

On February 14, a Chinese vessel was rammed by a Taiwanese coastal patrol boat in waters near Kinmen Island (controlled by Taipei). All four onboard were thrown into the water, and two of the crew later died. The two rescued were detained.

Andrew Hsia expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and called for swift action to find the truth and deal with the consequences.

He also expressed the Kuomintang’s willingness to maintain cross-strait peace and stability, promote exchanges and dialogue, respect the 1992 Consensus, and oppose Taiwan’s independence.

The senior Taiwanese authority’s visit also comes following the island’s leadership elections, in which the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the Executive and the Kuomintang, which advocates a rapprochement with Beijing, received a Legislative majority.

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