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The cross-strait hotline proposed by President Ma Ying-jeou in the Ma-Xi meeting officially starts operating today (December 30). Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Hsia Li-yan and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Zhang Zhi-jun have spoken through the newly opened hotline, confirming its operation between the directors of cross-strait affairs.

►Related News: Cross-Strait Hotline Launches at the End of 2015

Apple Daily reports, Hsia said during the phone call that this hotline is the concrete result from the meeting between the cross-strait leaders. He hopes that through this hotline, the communication between Taipei and Beijing can become smoother in terms of emergencies and other important issues.

Meanwhile, Hsia also calls on both sides to continue their efforts in promoting cross-strait consensus on important issues as early as possible in order to demonstrate the results of their discussions.

China Times reports, in the Taiwan Economic Development Forum hosted by seven major business organizations on December 29, the representative Lai Zheng-yi gave a speech, saying that merely maintaining the status quo is not enough. He says cross-strait relations have developed to a point that moving forward is the only choice, and future goals should be more concrete and precise.

AU Optronics Corporation (AUO) Chairman Paul S.L. Peng also points out that as long as it comes to China investments, people will overly politicize the issues. However, they don’t consider the companies’ actual needs for developments. If China is willing to invest, as long as the monitoring mechanism is designed well, the prospects are quite promising.

Translated by Vic Chiang
Edited by Olivia Yang

Sources: