Democratic Progressive Party's presidential candidate Tsai Ing-Wen says she does not rule out the possibility of meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping if she is elected in January.
Tsai said Thursday that public opinion and democracy are important pillars of the cross-strait relationship, and the leader of Taiwan should consolidate these pillars.
She also said that if elected, she is not against the idea of a Tsai-Xi meeting under the right circumstances.
Tsai, the front runner in opinion polls, said that exchanges between the leaders of Taiwan and Mainland China should be conducted under conditions of mutual respect and transparency. She also said that cross-strait relations should be conducted in a manner that the Taiwanese people support.
Meanwhile, Kuomintang's (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu said the upcoming meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will have a positive impact on future cross-strait exchanges. He said the current state of cross-strait relations is the result of the KMT’s past efforts. He said the future leader of Taiwan should be honest and let Taiwan’s people know whether they can maintain this positive relationship with China.