Taiwan’s top China policymaker, Andrew Hsia, says that the APEC summit remains the only appropriate occasion for the leaders of Taiwan and Mainland China to meet. Hsia’s comment on Wednesday comes following rumors that a meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese President Xi Jinping had been scheduled for August last year.
A local media report says that a meeting between Ma and Xi was originally planned for last August on Taiwan’s outlying island of Kinmen. The report also said that even though the Presidential Office had started to draft speeches and prepare gifts for the occasion, the meeting never took place because of an alleged espionage case.
Hsia declined to comment on the rumors. He said only that despite many suggestions on the time and venue of a cross-strait leaders’ meeting, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is the most suitable occasion.