Taiwan, China can resolve differences, says former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou after meeting Xi Jinping

Taiwan and China can peacefully resolve their differences, former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said on April 11 after meeting Chinese PresidentPresidentPresident Xi Jinping, adding that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same culture and history.

Mr. Ma, President from 2008 to 2016, last year became the first former or sitting Taiwanese leader to visit China. On Wednesday, he held his second meeting with Mr. Xi, following a landmark summit in Singapore in 2015 when Mr. Ma was still Taiwan's leader, which was the first time Chinese and Taiwanese leaders had met following the end of the civil war in 1949.

Speaking on his return from Beijing, Mr. Ma said he hoped young Taiwanese can put aside ideology and realise the historical and cultural links between Taiwan and China. "More importantly, the Chinese on both sides of the Strait can handle disputes peacefully," he added.