02) China continental e Taiwan: primeiro contato direto em 60 anos

Demorou, mas chegou. Desde que as tropas de Mao Tsé-tung expulsaram do continente as forças derrotadas de Chang Kai-chek, que se refugiram na ilha de Formosa, também conhecida como Taiwan (ou República da China, por oposição à República Popular da China, dominada pelo Partido Comunista), é a primeira vez que os dois partidos no poder se comunicam diretamente, mas curiosamente eles o fizeram por meio de seus respectivos presidentes, que também ocupam essa função nas chefias dos respectivos Estados.
Abaixo uma nota de imprensa sobre esse evento, provável iniciador de diversos outros contatos diretos, o que deve diminuir o clima de tensão entre as duas partes e augurar desenvolvimentos positivos no futuro.

Taiwan and China Leaders Exchange Messages
The Associated Press
International Herald Tribune, July 27, 2009

The presidents of Taiwan and China exchanged direct messages Monday for the first time since the two sides split 60 years ago the latest sign of their warming relations. According to a Nationalist Party statement, Chinese President Hu Jintao congratulated Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou on his election Sunday as party chairman, and told Ma he hopes his Chinese Communist Party can work with Ma's Nationalist Party in the best interest of both sides. ''I hope both our parties can continue to promote peaceful development in cross-strait relations, and help bolster mutual trust between the two sides in political affairs,'' Hu's telegram said.
China's state-owned Xinhua News Agency has confirmed that Hu sent the note. In return, Ma called for both sides to work on peace. ''We should continue efforts to consolidate peace in the Taiwan Strait and rebuild regional stability,''Ma said. Taiwan and China usually communicate through semiofficial channels, with Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation talking with its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait. The Straits Exchange Foundation is partly funded by the Taiwanese government.