A personal take on China and Taiwan announcing their first summit

The World
Activists protest against the planned summit meeting between Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese President Xi Jinping in front of the parliament building in  Taipei, Taiwan. The placard reads, ‘The government destroys itself.’

Long time foes, China and Taiwan, have announced that they are to hold their first ever presidential summit. Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese President Xi Jinping  are to meet in Singapore on Saturday.

“On the one hand I think it’s a good step forward,” says writer Michelle Chen. “But on the other hand it feels sort of like — wait — this hasn’t happened yet?  I thought people were doing this all the time.”

Both of Chen’s parents were among the millions of Chinese who fled the mainland after the Communists won the civil war in 1949. They and their families settled in what became Taiwan.

The Nationalist government in Taiwan maintained the notion that it was the legitimate government of all China. Likewise Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, calling it a ‘renegade province.’

Tensions between China and Taiwan remained high right through the Cold War. “And from there on,” says Chen, “it was only a matter of time before the wall started to fall between China and Taiwan.”

“When you think about how far things have come in the last 20-30 years or so,” says Chen, “it is pretty amazing how things have moved forward in terms of just bridging this gap across this silly little strip of ocean, called the Taiwan Strait.”

“I talked to my Dad,” added Chen, “and he’s pretty excited. Though I feel that they [her Mom and Dad] were kind of ahead of the curve, since they’ve been fostering cross-Strait relations since before Nixon even shook hands and went to China.“

Chen’s parents came to the United States to study in the 1960s, where they received a different view of Mainland China and ended up launching their own initiative to open up trade relations between China and the US. This effort resulted in the opening of the Pearl River Mart in Manhattan, well-known to New Yorkers. That effort, however, has led to much criticism from other Taiwanese.

Protests have been taking place in Taipei against the summit. And polls suggest President Ma’s party is unlikely to win presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for January.

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