2015年CRI Announcement of Xi-Ma Meeting Raises Expectations

 

The meeting is scheduled to take place in Singapore on Saturday. Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, says the event will be the first of its kind in 66 years.

"This is the first meeting of leaders of both sides of the strait since 1949. It will bring communication across the strait to a new level. It will also bring prospect¹ for the development of the relations across the strait."

Zhang Zhijun is also head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, China's cabinet.

According to Zhang, Saturday's meeting will feature one session open to the media and another behind closed doors. The two sides will address the press after their private talks. The two leaders will then attend a dinner to conclude the meetings.

Zhang says the two men will meet in their capacity of "leaders of the two sides" of the Taiwan Straits.

"The meeting is to be conducted in the capacity of leaders from the two sides of the straits. It means that the two leaders will meet under the title of "leader of the Mainland" and "leader of Taiwan". The two leaders will call each other "Mr.". This is a pragmatic arrangement under the situation of the irresolution² of cross-strait political differences on the basis of the one-China principle. It is acceptable for both sides."

Zhang says the meeting will help consolidate³ the 1992 Consensus⁴, which was reached in talks between the two sides in 1992 and endorses⁵ the one-China principle.

In Taiwan, the upcoming event is widely covered by local media. The island's ruling Kuomintang Party has hailed the meeting as "a major watershed⁶" for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Chief of Taiwan's mainland Affairs Hsia Li-yan comments highly on the meeting.

"The meeting between the leaders of the two sides shows the firm determination to maintain peace and stability across the Straits, and recreate a new milestone⁷ for development of the cross-Straits relations. The focus of the meeting is to consolidate peace, and reiterate⁸ to maintain the current peace and stability across the Straits based on the 1992 Consensus."

Hsia says experts in Taiwan believe Saturday's events could lead to more regular exchanges between the mainland and Taiwan, such as meeting between heads in charge of cross-strait affairs.

Announcement of the news was particularly welcomed by Taiwan's business community. The Taiwan Stock Exchange's main index opened higher yesterday and continued to climb sharply, reflecting anticipations⁹ of further improvement in cross-strait ties after Saturday's meeting.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

1 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

2 irresolution   

n.不决断，优柔寡断，犹豫不定

参考例句：

• A lack of certainty that often leads to irresolution. 疑惑缺少肯定而导致犹豫不决。 来自互联网
• Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? 我们迟疑不决、无所作为就能积聚力量吗？ 来自互联网

3 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

4 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

5 endorses   

v.赞同( endorse的第三人称单数 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• There isn't one country in the Middle East that now endorses the Eisenhower Doctrine. 但至今没有一个中东国家认可它。 来自辞典例句
• Whether any of this truly endorses Dr Patel's hypothesis is moot. 这些视频能否真正证明帕特的假设成立还是个未知数。 来自互联网

6 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。

7 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

8 reiterate   

v.重申，反复地说

参考例句：

• Let me reiterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.让我再一次重申我们绝对没有增税的计划。
• I must reiterate that our position on this issue is very clear.我必须重申我们对这一项议题的立场很清楚。

9 anticipations   

预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物

参考例句：

• The thought took a deal of the spirit out of his anticipations. 想到这，他的劲头消了不少。
• All such bright anticipations were cruelly dashed that night. 所有这些美好的期望全在那天夜晚被无情地粉碎了。