The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council summarized and praised the cross-Straits relations of the past eight years on Wednesday, saying they "will be written into the annals of history".
The mainland and Taiwan have reached mutual political trust during the past eight years and signed 23 agreements that have improved cross-Straits cooperation in many fields and reduced conflict on international affairs, Ma Xiaoguang, the office's spokesman, said during a media briefing.
The regular briefing was the last before the island's government transition on May 20, when Tsai Ing-wen, the chairwoman of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, will assume leadership and deliver a speech.
When asked by a reporter from Taiwan to comment on the island's current leader, Ma Ying-jeou, and his performance during two tenures, Ma Xiaoguang said the cross-Straits relations in the past eight years have been widely supported by people from the both sides and by the international community.
The accomplishment is obvious to all and cannot be denied, he added.
It was not until 2008, following Ma Ying-jeou's election victory and the rapid warming of cross-Straits relations, that a communication mechanism was established that handles day-to-day issues.
One month after the meeting in November between President Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou, the heads of cross-Straits affairs on both sides used a newly established hotline to talk to each other.
The peaceful development of cross-Straits relations has been based on the 1992 Consensus, which says that both the mainland and Taiwan are parts of one China, said Ma Xiaoguang. The positive interaction across the straits will go forward only with continued mutual acknowledgment of the 1992 Consensus, he added.
"Our demand is reasonable. We don't ask the new leadership to do anything beyond what we have requested since 2008," he said, adding that peaceful development of cross-Straits relations is what people from both sides want.
"Cross-Straits relations have entered a crucial stage," he said. "The ball is now in the hands of Taiwan's new leader. People are waiting to see which way" the new leadership chooses.
