TAIPEI/BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks with the leader of neighbouring Taiwan on Saturday, the first such meeting between the two political rivals since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949 and coming weeks ahead of elections on the island.
The meeting in Singapore coincides with rising anti-China sentiment in Taiwan ahead of the presidential and parliamentary polls in January which the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT) is likely to lose to the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which traditionally favours independence from China.
Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, who steps down next year due to term limits, has made improving economic links with China a key policy since he took office in 2008. He has signed landmark business and tourism deals, though there has been no progress in resolving their political differences.
Andrew Hsia, head of the Mainland Affairs Council, Taiwan's ministry in charge of China policy, said the meeting underscored both sides' dedication to peace.
But DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen asked why the announcement had come out of the blue.
"I believe people across the country, like me, felt very surprised," she said in prepared remarks to reporters. "To let the people know in such a hasty and chaotic manner is damaging to Taiwan's democracy."
Political experts said China could be working to shape the result of the elections by trying to show that ties would continue to improve if Taiwan remains ruled by the KMT.
DPP spokesman Cheng Yun-peng said the timing of the meeting was suspect. "How can people not think of this as a political operation intended to affect the election?" he said.
Hsia said the push for the meeting, initiated by the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, was neither rushed nor opaque and that there would be no secret deals reached.
"We adhered to open and transparent principles and absolutely did not use a rushed, chaotic black-box manner," he told reporters.
But some analysts said it could backfire, given increasing anti-China protests, especially among the young. In what was seen as a backlash against creeping dependence on China, the KMT was trounced in local elections last year. Younger Taiwanese in particular worry about Beijing's influence.
"Any meeting between the leaders of China and Taiwan would be delicate, but the coming Taiwanese elections add to the political risks for both sides," said John Ciorciari, an assistant professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.
"Ma Ying-jeou and Xi Jinping are doubtlessly concerned that their summit will help Tsai Ing-wen expand her lead as the Taiwanese electorate drifts away from the mainland."
Small groups of protesters gathered outside Taiwan's parliament on Wednesday.
Communist China deems proudly democratic Taiwan a breakaway province to be taken back, by force if necessary, particularly if it makes moves towards formal independence.
China, which has repeatedly said it won't interfere in the elections, will nonetheless be sending a message that good ties with Taiwan can only continue if the island's leaders accept China's bottom line, which is that there is only "one China".
The Communists and KMT both agree there is "one China" but agree to disagree on the interpretation. Taiwan has been self-ruled since Chiang Kai-shek's KMT fled to the island following their defeat by Mao Zedong's Communists at the end of the Chinese civil war.
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