In a significant diplomatic event on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing, marking a historic first since the civil war ended in 1949. This meeting, reported as a notable moment in cross-strait relations, echoes a bygone era of warmer ties between China and Taiwan. The gathering took place at the Great Hall of the People, with both leaders discussing the future of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Xi Jinping emphasized that 'family reunion' between China and Taiwan is unstoppable, despite external interference. This stance reiterates China's long-standing goal of reunification with Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing considers a breakaway province. The meeting comes at a time of heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, with Beijing frequently sending military jets and ships around the island. Ma Ying-jeou, who led Taiwan from 2008 to 2016 and favors deeper engagement with Beijing, had previously met Xi in Singapore in 2015. This event coincides with a U.S.-Japan summit and precedes the inauguration of a new pro-sovereignty leader in Taipei.
🇨🇳 BREAKING: CHINA VOWS TAIWAN "REUNION" Chinese President Xi met former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and said outside influence cannot stop the “family” reunion between Beijing and Taipei. “External interference cannot stop the historical trend of reunion of the country… https://t.co/otZepgwE5K
China’s Xi says nobody can stop ‘family reunion’ with Taiwan https://t.co/TwTIx6rHjo
Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, who led Taiwan from 2008 to 2016, favors deeper bilateral engagement with Beijing. https://t.co/riSsG4rBAY
Xi Jinping meets with former Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou met with Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday, his second visit to mainland China after previously meeting Xi Jinping in Singapore in 2015 before leaving office, state media… https://t.co/CelOr9k9kR
President Xi Jingping said foreign interference can’t prevent a "family reunion" with China. Chinese jets, ships circle Taiwan every day to intimidate its population. READ MORE: https://t.co/S3nO38OFMZ
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwan's controversial former President Ma Ying-jeou met in Beijing on Wednesday, hours before a key U.S.-Japan summit and weeks ahead of the inauguration of a new pro-sovereignty leader in Taipei. https://t.co/JeYAfIbV69
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held a highly unusual meeting with a former leader of Taiwan, the democratic island that Beijing considers to be a breakaway province, in a signal to Washington, the incoming administration in Taipei and the... https://t.co/JMBQ01XUik
Xi Jinping welcomed Ma Ying-jeou to Beijing Wednesday, underscoring the Chinese leader’s focus on Taiwan as Washington hosts a summit with the two Asian allies most likely to be pulled into a conflict around the island. @joyuwang https://t.co/0JiEeqkLQR https://t.co/0JiEeqkLQR
Chinese President Xi Jinping: outside inference cannot stop "family reunion" with Taiwan https://t.co/q2HMw2trbm
China's Xi Jinping hosts ex-Taiwan leader in Beijing in a message of Washington, Taipei https://t.co/6j9PA4Nv5u
Former #Taiwan President #MaYingjeou met with #XiJinping in Beijing today. The seating arrangement was not like Xi's meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken @SecBlinken, where Blinken was seated as a "subordinate," but rather a face-to-face exchange, which is… https://t.co/L4bVSKlyXy https://t.co/503xtIkM6X
Chinese President #XiJinping met former #Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing, state media reports, the second time the men have met and at a time of ongoing tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. https://t.co/7VKZPYHbJt
#XiJinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing on Wednesday. https://t.co/sVe0iwz80c
China and Taiwan are destined for ‘reunification’, Xi tells former president https://t.co/puWRWzLq3f
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing on April 10 in a bid to promote unification between the sides that separated amid civil war in 1949. https://t.co/FHKXe5HKKk
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing on Wednesday. Xi said people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are all Chinese. The difference in systems does not alter the reality that both sides of the Strait… https://t.co/FVXtR7lJmp
Xi Jinping says nobody can stop ‘family reunion’ between China and Taiwan https://t.co/MFnSqK3tBR
Chinese President Xi Jinping told former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou that outside interference could not stop the 'family reunion' between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and that there are no issues that cannot be discussed https://t.co/WL2AqzYovA
Xi Jinping welcomed former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou to Beijing as Washington hosts a summit with two Asian allies https://t.co/Nr4Eu8uBf3 https://t.co/Nr4Eu8uBf3
"External Interference" Cannot Stop China, Taiwan Unification: Xi Jinping https://t.co/WwuJOM1EfH https://t.co/DoEJznvOsZ
China's Xi says nobody can stop 'family reunion' with Taiwan - Reuters https://t.co/YGPSfeND1j
Xi Jinping talks of a "family reunion" with Taiwan, but no one should be forced to attend a family reunion at gunpoint. A democratic China would make that reunion far more attractive to attend. The alternative is a crushing of freedom as in Hong Kong. https://t.co/JqgECAT9jV
Xi Jinping holds talks in China with former Taiwan president https://t.co/L2ey00PzLy
China's Xi meets with Taiwan’s former president Ma in Beijing ➡️ https://t.co/4APPhubPMa https://t.co/HZs2fX0xWi
A special meeting. Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou met at the Great Hall of the People today, first time for a former Taiwan president to be hosted in Beijing like this since 1949. Ma led Taiwan from 2008-2016. He previously met with Xi in 2015 in Singapore. https://t.co/AE627wX2sg
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing on Wednesday. #XiJinping https://t.co/XcbfkdBpfn
China's Xi meets former Taiwan President Ma in Beijing https://t.co/O0cB4ET1e3 https://t.co/srHrStf1FH
Historic meeting at the Great Hall of the People in #Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou! Great Confucian wisdom of harmony. If mainland #China & #Taiwan can reunify peacefully, it will be the best thing for peace in Asia. https://t.co/mthrWtOrif
China’s Xi hosts former Taiwan president in Beijing, a rare meeting that echoes a bygone era of warmer ties https://t.co/5P62PNX0uY
This is a historic first: Xi meets former ROC President Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing, the first time ever that a serving or former president of the ROC has met the top leadership in the mainland. https://t.co/lp32QGgQHA
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing on Wednesday.
One small step for two men, but one giant leap for the Chinese nation… and the world? “President Xi Jinping is holding talks with former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing, marking the first time that a serving or former leader of the self-governed island has met the… https://t.co/KUtfbbS0ZO
Xi meets Taiwan’s Ma in historic first, 9 years after Singapore handshake https://t.co/DUnhuV4xz4
Xi Jinping meets Taiwan's former president Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing today.-CCTV https://t.co/JO3APeQ3fg
Chinese President Xi Jinping Meets Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing https://t.co/ZaHtG8eilX https://t.co/I3wia3JOty
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will meet former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing for a landmark sitdown, the Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS reports https://t.co/0egeDzAmUy
Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, visited Peking University in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon, along with a youth delegation from Taiwan. https://t.co/LNm1Ph9QeO
Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, and members of a delegation of young people from Taiwan visited the Palace Museum, the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the Lugou Bridge, as well as the National Stadium… https://t.co/WmGNVEVaLU
Vietnam National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and proposed more cooperation between the South China Sea rivals on trade and development projects, the Vietnamese government and state media said https://t.co/AJMlgM2vO7
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday met with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Vuong Dinh Hue in Beijing.
Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party who is leading a Taiwan youth delegation to visit the mainland, visited the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing on Sunday. https://t.co/vEBb18QuJx
Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party who is leading a Taiwan youth delegation to visit the mainland, on Saturday visited the Xi'an branch of the China National Archives of Publications and Culture in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. https://t.co/ub0e8Hw9lc
Communist dictator Xi Jinping, leader of China, met this past week over the phone with President Biden. https://t.co/sGZb0X8c8u