China's top negotiator with Taipei, Tang Shubei, told a visiting group from Taiwan on Wednesday that it was time for the rivals to hold political talks to pave the way for reunification, Chinese newspapers said on Thursday.
Now is the time for the two sides to engage in political talks...to end the state of hostility, the overseas edition of the People's Daily quoted Tang as saying.
China wants peaceful reunification... Political disputes should be resolved through political talks, Tang said. In Taipei, Kao Koong-lian, spokesman for the cabinet's mainland affairs council, said: It is fine with us.
On Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Shen Guofang urged Taiwan authorities to abandon their drive to break out of diplomatic isolation for the talks to push through.
The necessary atmosphere for the opening of the talks has (all along) been disrupted by the Taiwan authorities, he added.
The Taiwan authorities should in the first place put an end to their activities of trying to create
