Official elaborates on Cross-Straits ties 'roadmap'

BEIJING - A Chinese mainland spokeswoman on Wednesday said the mainland and Taiwan should formulate plans and related measures for promoting the comprehensive development of their ties.

Fan Liqing, a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks at a press conference when asked to elaborate on the mainland-Taiwan ties "roadmap," a concept raised by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

During a June 13 meeting with visiting Honorary Chairman of Taiwan's Kuomintang Party Wu Poh-Hsiung in Beijing, Xi raised a four-point proposal on mainland-Taiwan ties.

As part of the proposal, Xi said, "Developing mainland-Taiwan ties is the trend of the times, and we should formulate our own roadmap based on that in order to continue moving forward."

In response to a question from the media on Wednesday, Fan said practices over the past five years have demonstrated that the peaceful development of cross-Strait ties is the trend of the times and is in accord with the will of the people on both sides of the Strait.

"Both sides of the Taiwan Strait should follow the trend of the times and the wishes of the people, and formulate plans and related measures for promoting the all-around development of their ties in political, economic, cultural and social areas, in order to continue to promote the peaceful development of their relations," she said.