Taipei - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, in his National Day speech, called for peace with China under the precondition that Taiwan's sovereign and defence is guaranteed. Presiding over the first National Day celebration since his May 20 inauguration, Ma said his pursuing peace and expanding exchanges with China has won support from the international community.
"I hope the two sides can shelf the dispute and extend their political reconciliation to the international stage," he said, referring to his call for a diplomatic truce, and that Beijing and Taipei stop trying to win over each other's diplomatic allies.
But he also stressed the importance of national defence against a possible attack from China.
"While asserting our sovereignty, we must also strengthen national defence and join hands in safeguarding our home," he said.
The National Day celebrations took place in the square in front of the Presidential Office Building in central Taipei.
After his speech, Ma and 171 foreign guests, including Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, watched a parade with warplanes flying over the square as well as colourfully-dressed children and students dancing and marching across the square.
Taiwan has been the seat of the Republic of China (ROC) since 1949 when the ROC government lost the Chinese Civil War and fled to Taipei to set up its government-in-exile.
Cross-strait tension eased when Taipei opened people-to-people contacts in 1987 and achieved a breakthrough in 1993 when Taipei and Beijing held a historic dialogue in Singapore and a series of talks under the dialogue's framework to discuss legal disputes, fishing quarrels and the deportation of Chinese plane hijackers.
China halted the talks in 1996 in retaliation of former president Lee Teng-hui's advocating independence and remained sour during the 2000-2006 term under ex-president Chen Shui-bian, also a supporter of Taiwan independence.
Ma, from the China-friendly Chinese Nationalist Party, won a landslide victory in the March 22 presidential election on the platform of seeking peace with China and halting Taiwan's economic downturn.
Since taking office on May 20, Ma has resumed Taipei-Beijng dialogue and opened weekend charter flights with China.
Taipei and Beijing are expected to hold another dialogue later this month to discuss direct regular flights, direct sea links and greater economic cooperation.
