Cross-Strait relations (simplified Chinese: 海峡两岸关系; traditional Chinese: 海峽兩岸關係; pinyin: Hǎixiá Liǎng'àn guānxì) refers to the relations between mainland China and Taiwan, which are separated by the Taiwan Strait in the west Pacific Ocean, and especially the relations between their respective governments, the People's Republic of China ("PRC") and the Republic of China ("ROC").
In 1949, with the Chinese Civil War turning decisively in the Communists' (CPC) favour, the ROC government led by the Kuomintang (KMT) retreated to Taipei, in Taiwan, while the CPC proclaimed the PRC government in Beijing.
Since then, the relations between mainland China and Taiwan have been characterised by limited contact, tensions, and instability. In the early years, military conflicts continued, while diplomatically both governments competed to be the "legitimate government of China". More recently, questions around the legal and political status of Taiwan have focused on the alternative prospects of formal reunification with the mainland or full Taiwanese independence. The People's Republic remains hostile to any formal declaration of independence and maintains its claim over Taiwan. At the same time, there has been increasing non-governmental and semi-governmental exchanges between the two sides. From 2008, negotiations began to restore the "three links" (transportation, commerce, and communications) between the two sides, cut off since 1949. Party-to-party talks between the CPC and the KMT have resumed and semi-official negotiations through organizations representing the interests of their respective governments are being scheduled.
The English expression "cross-Strait relations" has been used by the two sides concerned and by many observers so that the relationship between mainland China and Taiwan would not be referred to as "China–Taiwan relations" or "PRC–ROC relations". There is also no commonly used Chinese language phrase equivalent to the latter two phrases.
Other articles related to "relations":
... Ma, in his inaugural address, laid out his promise in dealing with cross-strait relations that there would be "no reunification, no independence, and no war. 2008 edition of Time Magazine said that in less than three months' time, "relations between Taiwan and PRC have arguably seen the most rapid advancement in the six-decade ... of the Beijing-based the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARAT), the opposition Pan-Green Coalition criticized the visit as "taking steps toward ...
... See also Cross-strait relations and Political status of Taiwan The People's Republic of China claims that self-ruled Taiwan is its 23rd province ... Zhang Mingqing, the deputy chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, arrived in Taiwan about a week before the protest ...
... the "best understanding" of Taiwan and this is likely to lead to continued political stability in cross-Strait relations ...
... Communist Party of China, Wu proposed that cross-strait relations be governed under the framework of one country, two areas (一國兩區), in which from the Republic of China's point of ...
Famous quotes containing the word relations:
“Major [William] McKinley visited me. He is on a stumping tour.... I criticized the bloody-shirt course of the canvass. It seems to me to be bad “politics,” and of no use.... It is a stale issue. An increasing number of people are interested in good relations with the South.... Two ways are open to succeed in the South: 1. A division of the white voters. 2. Education of the ignorant. Bloody-shirt utterances prevent division.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)