Hu calls for talks with Taiwan
Chinese President Hu Jintao, in a speech given days before he travels to Washington, called Sunday for dialogue with Taiwan but under preconditions that Taipei is unlikely to accept.
In televised talks with Lien Chan, former head of the opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), Hu urged the KMT to work with China's ruling Communist Party.
"We always maintain that both sides of the Taiwan Straits should take a far-sighted and constructive attitude in dialogue and negotiations to resolve their disputes and problems," Hu said.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. However, he said a precondition to discussions would be Taiwan's acceptance of the so-called "one China principle," which holds that both the mainland and Taiwan are part of one China.
"Peace and development should become the main issue on the development of cross-strait ties and should be the goal that compatriots on both sides of the strait should struggle for," Hu said.
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