"and talks, based on the 1992 Consensus, between mainland China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan's Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), as early as possible, and practically solving problems concerning the two sides through talks on equal footing. Once the ARATS-SEF dialogue is resumed, priority should be given to issues including cross-Strait weekend chartered flights and approval for mainland China residents traveling to Taiwan, which are of the biggest concern to people on both sides of the Strait. ""The KMT has won two important elections in Taiwan recently,"" Wu said, ""which showed that the mainstream opinion of"
"its narrowest. Part of the continental shelf, the Strait is no more than deep, and has become a land bridge during glacial periods. To the south, the island of Taiwan is separated from the Philippine island of Luzon by the -wide Luzon Strait. The South China Sea lies to the southwest, the East China Sea to the north, and the Philippine Sea to the east. Smaller islands of the archipelago include the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait west of the main island, with an area of , the tiny islet of Xiaoliuqiu off the southwest coast, and Orchid Island"
"Qiongzhou Strait The Qiongzhou Strait (), also called the Hainan Strait, is a body of water that separates the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong, southern China, to the north from Hainan Island to its south. The strait connects the Gulf of Tonkin in the west to the South China Sea on the east. The strait is on average wide and centered at with a maximum water depth of approximately . The strait is susceptible to closure during strong typhoon activity. Whales and dugongs were once common in the strait. The strait was crossed by the People's Liberation Army forces in the"
"at its narrowest point. The most significant islands in the Strait are the Penghu islands 45 km from the southwest coast of Taiwan and 140 km from the Chinese coast. Part of the continental shelf, the Strait is no more than 100 m deep, and has become a land bridge during glacial periods. Taiwan is a tilted fault block, with rugged longitudinal mountain ranges making up most of the eastern two-thirds of the island. They include more than two hundred peaks with elevations of over 3,000 m (9,843 ft). The western side of the island slopes down to fertile coastal"
"descendants. The island of Taiwan was formed approximately 4 to 5 million years ago on a complex convergent boundary between the continental Eurasian Plate and the oceanic Philippine Sea Plate. The boundary continues southwards in the Luzon Volcanic Arc, a chain of islands between Taiwan and the Philippine island of Luzon including Green Island and Orchid Island. From the northern part of the island the eastward continuation of the boundary is marked by the Ryukyu chain of volcanic islands. The island is separated from the coast of Fujian to the west by the Taiwan Strait, which is 130 km wide"
"Luzon Strait The Luzon Strait (Filipino: ""Kipot ng Luzon"") is the strait between Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean. The Luzon strait is approximately wide containing a number of islands grouped into two groups: the Batanes Islands of Batanes Province and the Babuyan Islands of Cagayan Province, both of the Philippines. The strait is divided into a number of smaller channels. The Babuyan Channel separates Luzon from the Babuyan Islands, which is separated from the Batanes Islands by the Balintang Channel. Batanes"
"is separated from Taiwan by the Bashi Channel. This is an important strait for shipping and communications. Many ships from the Americas use this route to go to important East Asian ports. Many submarine communications cables pass through the Luzon Strait. These cables provide important data and telephony services to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. Some of the largest ocean waves in the world are found in the north of the strait, at times over 170 metres, stemming from tides and ocean currents. These waves or currents are underwater and rarely break the surface, thus posing no"
"spring of 1950 (see Landing Operation on Hainan Island). The Guangdong–Hainan Ferry (part of the Guangdong–Hainan Railway) carries rail cars and automotive vehicles across the strait. While a bridge was planned in the early 2000's it never came to fruition. A bridge or tunnel have been discussed, as of 2018, as travel by air or ferry can leave residents and visitors isolated when bad weather sets in. Qiongzhou Strait The Qiongzhou Strait (), also called the Hainan Strait, is a body of water that separates the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong, southern China, to the north from Hainan Island to its"
"and Green Island to the southeast, separated from the northernmost islands of the Philippines by the Bashi Channel. The islands of Kinmen and Matsu near the coast of Fujian across the Taiwan Strait have a total area of ; the Pratas and Taiping islets in the South China Sea are also administered by the ROC, but are not part of the Taiwanese archipelago. The island of Taiwan was formed approximately 4 to 5 million years ago at a complex convergent boundary between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. In a boundary running the length of the island and"
"air only. The Guangdong–Hainan Ferry, or the Yuehai Ferry (part of the Guangdong–Hainan Railway) is a vehicle and Train ferry connecting Hainan Island to Guangdong in mainland China. The ferries run across the Qiongzhou Strait, between Zhanjiang, Guangdong and Haikou, Hainan. The Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project is a proposed undersea tunnel to connect Pingtan in China to Hsinchu in northern Taiwan as part of the G3 Beijing–Taipei Expressway. First proposed in 1996, the project has since been subject to a number of academic discussions and feasibility studies, including by the China Railway Engineering Corporation. There exist cross strait ferries, both"
"flights across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait that separates Taiwan from mainland China. In a conference at the Taipei Guest House, Ma reiterated his three-point China policy of “no independence,” “no unification” and “no war” across the strait. Ma said Chen signed four agreements with Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), on shortened air routes, direct maritime shipping, better mail service and food safety. In the morning, Chen met Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, attended the opening of two cross-straits seminars and lunched with People First Party chairman James Soong. During the afternoon, he toured the Hsinchu Science Park."
"and has an area of (including some minor islands). The shape of the main island is similar to a sweet potato oriented in a south-to-north direction, and therefore Taiwanese, especially the Min Nan speakers, often call themselves ""children of the Sweet Potato"". The central point of the island is the Geographic Center of Taiwan in Puli Township, Nantou County. The southernmost point of the island is the Taiwan Southernmost Point in Hengchun Township, Pingtung County. The island of Taiwan is separated from the southeast coast of China by the Taiwan Strait, which ranges from at its widest point to at"
"Korea Strait The Korea Strait is a sea passage between South Korea and Japan, connecting the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea (West Sea) and the Sea of Japan (East Sea) in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The strait is split by the Tsushima Island into the Western Channel and the Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel. To the north it is bounded by the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, and to the south by the southwestern Japanese islands of Kyūshū and Honshū. It is about wide and averages about 90 to 100 meters (300 ft) deep. Tsushima Island divides the"
"miles) off the southeast coast of 'Mainland China' (in East Asia). Taiwan does not have recognition by the United Nations (UN), and it is officially recognized as a Secessionist State within China. Taiwan's history as a 'nation' is quite short, but the nationalistic sentiment amongst the young Taiwanese is gradually increasing as the rift between Taiwan and its rival state, the People's Republic of China, widens. Taiwan was separated from China, also known as 'Mainland China', following the events of the First Sino-Japanese War, which occurred between 1894 and 1895. Qing Dynasty officials ceded Taiwan to the Empire of Japan"
"sides of the Taiwan Strait. One major difference with Taiwan is the focus on English education. Mirroring Hong Kong and Singapore, the ultimate goal is to become a country fluent in three languages (Taiwanese; Mandarin, the national language of both the communist People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic industrialized Republic of China (Taiwan); and English, becoming a bridge between East and West). According to western financial markets, consolidation of the financial sector remains a concern as it continues at a slow pace, with the market split so small that no bank controls more than 10% of the market,"
"Dadan Island Dadan Island (, also written as 大擔島) is a small island in Taiwan Strait, along the coast of Mainland China. It is located approximately to the Southwest of Lesser Kinmen and approximately from Xiamen. The Republic of China (Taiwan) controls the island, which is administered by Kinmen County Government under Lieyu Township, Kinmen County, Fukien Province. Since 1949, Dadan Island has several times become the battlefront of conflicts between the People's Liberation Army and the Republic of China Armed Forces. On 30 June 2014, the control of the island and surrounding islets was handed over from the Republic"
"Nanri Island. Meizhou Island occupies a central place in the cult of the goddess Matsu, the patron deity of Chinese sailors. The Min River and its tributaries cut through much of northern and central Fujian. Other rivers include the Jin and the Jiulong. Due to its uneven topography, Fujian has many cliffs and rapids. Fujian is separated from Taiwan by the -wide Taiwan Strait. Some of the small islands in the Taiwan Strait are also part of the province. The islands of Quemoy and Matsu are under the administration of the Republic of China. Fujian contains several faults, the result"
"the Taiwan Strait was exposed by lower sea levels as a land bridge. Around 5000 years ago farmers from mainland China settled on the island. These people are believed to have been speakers of Austronesian languages, which dispersed from Taiwan across the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The current Taiwanese aborigines are believed to be their descendants. Prehistoric Korea is the era of human existence in the Korean Peninsula for which written records did not exist. It, however, constitutes the greatest segment of the Korean past and is the major object of study in the disciplines of archaeology,"
"the fact that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are under separate rule. The move symbolised that the communist regime established on 1 October 1949 in mainland China is no longer considered by the ROC as a ""rebellious group,"" but ""a governing authority that has de facto rule of the mainland,"" Ma said. Over the past 17 years, several other concepts have been put forth by the country's leaders to try to define Cross-Strait relations, but none has been proven feasible, he said. These include the special state-to-state relations proposed by Lee in 1999, and the one country on"
"Cook Strait Cook Strait () is a strait that separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast, and runs next to the capital city, Wellington. It is wide at its narrowest point, and is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. The strait is named after James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in 1770. In Māori it has the name ""Raukawa"" or ""Te Moana-o-Raukawa"". ""Raukawa"" may mean ""bitter leaves"". In Māori legend, Cook Strait"
"Mainland China Mainland China, also known as the Chinese mainland, is the geopolitical as well as geographical area under the direct jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It includes Hainan island and strictly speaking, politically, does not include the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, even though both are partially on the geographic mainland (continental landmass). There are two terms in Chinese for ""mainland"": In the PRC, the usage of the two terms are strictly speaking not interchangeable. To emphasize ""equal footing"" in Cross-Strait relations, the term must be used in official contexts with reference to"
"Straits Forum The Straits Forum () is an annual forum between Mainland China and Taiwan which started in 2009. It is the largest non-political platform which promotes grassroots interaction, economic and trade exchanges and cultural integration. The first Straits Forum was held in May 2009 in Xiamen and three other cities in Fujian. It introduced eight preferential policies, including building cross-strait common market activities and encouraging mainland tourists to visit Taiwan. The second Straits Forum was held on 19-25 June 2010 in Xiamen and eight other regions in Fujian. The forum consisted of opening ceremony and evening party, policy discussion,"
"Taiwan Strait) as a single-party state for forty years, until democratic reforms in the 1980s, which led to the first-ever direct presidential election in 1996. During the post-war period, Taiwan experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth, and was known as one of the ""Four Asian Tigers"". In the Late Pleistocene, sea levels were about 140 m lower than in the present day, exposing the floor of the shallow Taiwan Strait as a land bridge that was crossed by mainland fauna. The oldest evidence of human presence on Taiwan consists of three cranial fragments and a molar tooth found at Chouqu"
"between the West and China. Notable shipwrecks include the 1867 US merchant ship ""Rover"" that resulted in the Rover incident and the 1871 Japanese merchant vessel ""Ryukyu"" which resulted in the Mudan incident. Qixingyan (Taiwan) Qixingyan or Chihsingyen () is a group of coral islands in the Bashi Channel, located off the southern coast of Pingtung County, Taiwan. The island group is composed by seven coral reefs. At low tide seven reefs are visible. At high tide only two reefs are visible. Qixingyan is shaped like the Big Dipper, hence the name ""Seven Star Reef"". It is about from the"
"several military confrontations between the PLAN and ROCN since the last days of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 when the Kuomintang (KMT) forces led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek retreated across the Strait and relocated their government to their final stronghold of Taiwan. A theoretical median maritime border known as the cross-strait median () also exists on the water to prevent certain transportation from passing. As part of the People's Republic of China's National Expressway Plan, a tunnel or possibly a bridge, was proposed in 2005 to link the city of Fuzhou with Taipei across the strait. If such an"
"Haidian Island Haidian Island () is an island that forms part of the city of Haikou, Hainan Province, China. It is separated from the main part of Haikou by the Haidian River. The north coast faces the Qiongzhou Strait. The east coast faces Xinbu Island, separated by part of the Nandu River. The west coast faces Haikou Bay. Both Renmin Avenue and Heping Avenue are the main streets on the island. The former that runs through the middle of the island from the south at the Renmin Bridge to the north shore at the newly built Baishamen Park, which contains"
"separated from the mainland by the -wide Taiwan Strait. During that period, more than two million civilians, military personnel and government officials left the mainland for Taiwan. Chiang then declared Taipei as the provisional capital of the Republic of China on 7 December 1949, and left Chengdu for Taipei by air three days later when the city fell to the communists. Based on the Constitution of the Republic of China, the head of state is the President, who is elected by popular vote for a four-year term on the same ticket as the Vice-President. The President has authority over the"
"Miyako Strait The , also known as the Kerama Gap, is a waterway which lies between Miyako Island and Okinawa Island consisting of an approx. 250km wide passageway with international waters and airspace. It is the widest strait in the Ryukyu Islands. The Miyako Strait is of global geopolitical significance, as it is one of the few international waterways for China's People's Liberation Army Navy to access the Pacific Ocean from the East China Sea. Japan insists that China has committed to informing them in advance if their Navy sails through the strait, a claim that the Chinese deny has"
"Cross-Strait Peace Forum The Cross-Strait Peace Forum () is a forum between Mainland China and Taiwan to discuss the peaceful development of the cross-strait relations. The forum was firstly held on October 2013 and it acts as an important platform for non-political dialogue between the two sides. The first Cross-Strait Peace Forum was held on 11-12 October 2013 in Shanghai. The theme of the forum was ""Cross-Strait Peace, Common Development"". It was organized by Mainland's National Society of Taiwan Studies and Taiwan's 21st Century Foundation. Around 120 experts and academics attended the forum. Many topics were discussed in the forum,"
"had caused ""severe harm to the coral reef environment"". It also characterized Taiping Island and other features of the Spratly Islands as ""rocks"" under UNCLOS, and therefore are not entitled to a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone. China however rejected the ruling, calling it ""ill-founded"". Taiwan, which currently administers Taiping Island, the largest of the Spratly Islands, also rejected the ruling. South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around . The sea carries"
"Strait of Tartary Strait of Tartary or Gulf of Tartary (; ; ; ) is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia (South-East Russia), connecting the Sea of Okhotsk on the north with the Sea of Japan on the south. It is long, 4–20 m (13-66 ft) deep, and wide at the narrowest point. ""Tartary"" is an older name used by Europeans to refer to a vast region covering Inner Asia, Central Asia and North Asia. The toponym is derived from the Medieval ethnonym ""Tartars"", which was applied to various Turco-Mongol semi-nomadic"
"Torres Strait The Torres Strait () is a strait which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mainland. To the north is the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. It is named after navigator Luís Vaz de Torres, who passed through the Strait in 1606. The strait links the Coral Sea to the east with the Arafura Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria in the west. Although it is an important international sea lane, it is very"
"Hai River The Hai River (lit.""Sea River""), formerly known as the Peiho, Pei He or (""White River""), is a Chinese river connecting Beijing to Tianjin and the Bohai Sea. The Hai River at Tianjin is formed by the confluence of five rivers, the Southern Canal, Ziya River, Daqing River, Yongding River, and the Northern Canal. The southern and northern canals are parts of the Grand Canal. The Southern Canal is joined by the Wei River at Linqing. The Northern Canal joins with the Bai He (or Chaobai River) at Tongzhou. The Northern Canal (sharing a channel with Bai He) is"