Hotline starts operating to link officials in mainland China, Taiwan, to help ease tensions

Mainland China and Taiwan officials began operating the first telephone hotline between the two sides on Wednesday, set up as a confidence building and tension reducing measure, with senior officials exchanging New Year’s greetings.

The step was agreed during a historic meeting between President Xi Jinping and his Taiwan counterpart Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore last month.

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Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said the first call was between Zhang Zhijun, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, and Andrew Hsia, head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council. They wished each other a happy New Year.

Zhang and Hsia also talked about the important achievements both sides had made in the past year in promoting the peaceful development of relations, spokesman Ma said.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council confirmed the call took place, but did not immediately provide any other details.

Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war with the communists in 1949. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring what it deems a renegade province under its control.