President Ma Ying-jeou says that he hopes Taiwan and China will set up permanent offices in each other’s territory before his term ends in 2016. Ma made the comments while talking to Harvard Professor Michael Porter at the “Building a Competitive Taiwan” forum on Friday.
Ma said that when he took office six years ago, his vision was to build a stable framework for Taiwan and China to freely communicate with each other.
"What we are doing now is laying down the foundation so that problems can be solved in the future. The Chinese people definitely have the wisdom to resolve cross-strait issues, but it will take time," said Ma.
Ma said he also hopes to complete talks on the cross-strait trade in goods agreement, and to see the cross-strait trade in services agreement ratified by the legislature before his term ends in two years. The president said that his administration has found a new path to develop cross-strait relations over the past six years, but the Taiwanese people need greater determination and courage to continue on the path.