The Chinese mainland commemorated the 30th anniversary of the announcement of
Message to Compatriots in Taiwan today with a ceremony attended by three top
leaders including President Hu Jintao.
The Standing Committee of National People's Congress (NPC), China's top
legislature, issued the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan on Jan. 1, 1979.
In this statement, the mainland first proposed to end the military
confrontation across the Taiwan Strait through dialog and welcomed exchanges
between the two sides.
Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the
ceremony with Jia Qinglin, chairman of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, also at present.
"The landmark statement elaborated our new policy on Taiwan issue and has
brought the cross-Strait relations into a new stage," said Li Jianguo, deputy
chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, in a speech at the ceremony.