China shows support for Taiwan’s leader with 90-second handshake

It was the lengthy handshake between the two leaders that grabbed the headlines, but the talks between China's President Xi Jinping and Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou, the first in seven decades, could signal a new era in one of Asia's most hotly contested regions.

China's nationalists, also known as the Kuomintang (KMT), led by Chiang Kai-shek, retreated to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the communists, who have ruled China since 1949. Since then, China has never ruled out the possibility of using force to bring Taiwan back under Beijing's control. However, since Mr Ma came to power eight years ago, relations have been warmer, especially as China and Taiwan's economies became more intertwined.

Mr Xi said China and Taiwan were “brothers who are still connected by our flesh even if our bones are broken . . . At present, we are at the crossroads for choosing the direction and path for future development in cross-strait relations”.

In remarks quoted by the official Xinhua news agency, he added: “We are sitting together today to prevent the historical tragedy from repeating itself, prevent the fruits from peaceful development of cross-strait ties from being lost again, enable compatriots across the strait to continue to create a peaceful life, and enable our next generations to share a bright future.”

Both sides agreed to deepen economic links and to introduce a hotline to keep communication channels open. The Taiwanese also asked for China to do something about the missiles pointing at them from across the Strait of Taiwan.

Every gesture and move was pored over by media on both sides for significance. The talks took place in a packed Shangri-la Hotel in downtown Singapore, where there was heavy security.

Among those details were the handshake that lasted about one and a half minutes, the use of “Mister” as a form of address (as neither side recognises the legitimacy of the other’s presidency), Mr Xi’s choice of a red tie while Mr Ma wore a blue one, and even how the two leaders split the bill after lunch.

For the Chinese government, it is important to show support for Mr Ma ahead of elections in January, especially as the frontrunner in that campaign is the opposition leader, Tsai Ing-wen, who heads the independence-minded Democratic Progressive Party.

Ms Tsai said she was disappointed with the talks.

“We had wanted President Ma to speak about Taiwan’s democracy, Taiwan’s freedom, the existence of the Republic of China [Taiwan], the freedom of the people to choose. But he did not,” she said on Taiwanese TV. “Instead, the only result was to create on the international stage a political framework limiting the choices of the Taiwan people.”

Looking ahead, the focus is likely to be on the “One China” policy, an idea formulated in 1992, whereby both sides recognise the existence of one China while each has different interpretations of what that means.

However, ties between the two states have only really deepened in an economic sense, with more trade and tourism, without them coming any closer politically.

In China, only Mr Xi’s comments were carried live on state television CCTV, and Mr Ma’s lapel badge showing the KMT flag of Taiwan was also censored.