BEIJING, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC)Central Committee Saturday congratulated the Kuomintang (KMT) plenary congress, expecting deepening trust, more exchanges and common understanding across the Taiwan Strait.
The KMT held its 18th plenary congress Saturday morning, at which Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou officially assumed the position of KMT chairman.
In a statement to the KMT Central Committee and Ma Ying-jeou, the CPC Central Committee expected the two parties to stick to the"common wish for peaceful cross-Strait development".
With the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence" as the political foundation, the two parties should deepen mutual trust, increase exchanges and expand common understanding, the statement said.
In response to the CPC statement, the KMT Central Committee said in a reply that the two parties have reached a common understanding to promote cross-Strait peaceful development.
The KMT expected to work with the CPC for improving trust and mutual benefits, in a bid to improve the welfare of people on both sides, the statement said.
Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, congratulated Lien Chan for maintaining the position of KMT honorary chairman and Wu Poh-hsiung for taking the position of KMT honorary chairman respectively.
The "common wish for peaceful cross-Strait development," reached by the two parties during Lien's 2005 visit to the mainland, has set a clear direction and laid the foundation for cross-Strait relations, Hu said in a statement to Lien.
"We sincerely expect Mr. Lien to continue working for the peaceful development across the Strait," he said.
In response to Hu's congratulation, Lien said in a statement that since the two sides resumed systematic talks based on the 1992 Consensus, the peace and stability across the Strait has been greatly enhanced and people's welfare improved.
"We should work even harder to strengthen the five-point common wishes," Lien said.
As the KMT chairman in the past two years, Wu had made great contribution to improving cross-Strait relations, Hu said in a statement to Wu.
Last year and this May, Wu visited the mainland twice for the KMT-CPC talks, which laid solid foundations for favorable exchanges between the two sides, he said. "We expected Mr. Wu to make new contributions to cross-Strait peaceful development."
In a reply to Hu, Wu said in the past four years, the two parties pushed forward their cooperation step by step and won support from the people and the international society.
"The two parties should work together for peace and development with sincerity and goodwill," he said.
As honorary chairmen, Lien and Wu will assist Ma on cross-Strait affairs and regional exchanges.
