Central government's Taiwan affairs official meets KMT vice chairman

Song Tao, Central Government's Taiwan affairs official, met with Chang Jung-kung, vice chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, and his delegation in Shanghai on Friday.

Song, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at the meeting that based on the common political foundation of upholding the "1992 Consensus" and opposing "Taiwan separatist forces", the the Central Government is ready to work with the KMT to oppose secessionist activities and crush any attempts by Japan or other external forces to interfere in affairs related to Taiwan.

He called for efforts to strengthen cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, safeguard the common home and fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, advance peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait, and strive for national reunification and rejuvenation.

Chang said people on both sides of the Strait are all Chinese, sharing the same bloodline, culture and history, and cross-Strait affairs should be decided by people on both sides.

"History has proven that as long as we adhere to the '1992 Consensus' and oppose 'Taiwan separatist forces', cross-Strait relations can indeed develop peacefully. Otherwise, they cannot. Every one of us in Taiwan is a proud and dignified Chinese. The main actors in cross-Strait relations are the people on both sides. And we will more firmly uphold the original political foundation to continue promoting peace and exchanges across the Strait," said Chang.

Central government's Taiwan affairs official meets KMT vice chairman

Central government's Taiwan affairs official meets KMT vice chairman

Central government's Taiwan affairs official meets KMT vice chairman

Central government's Taiwan affairs official meets KMT vice chairman

Central government's Taiwan affairs official meets KMT vice chairman

Central government's Taiwan affairs official meets KMT vice chairman

Central government's Taiwan affairs official meets KMT vice chairman

China released the outline of its 15th Five-Year Plan on Friday, highlighting digital intelligence development and high-quality population development as vital drivers of economic and social progress.

Including dedicated sections on the two themes, the plan calls for greater efforts to facilitate AI applications and establish life cycle care to safeguard the people's right to development.

Compared with the 14th Five-Year Plan, which focused on accelerating digitalization, the new concept of "digital intelligence development" places greater emphasis on the integration of artificial intelligence with the real economy, according to a macro economy expert.

"While the previous five-year plan caught the wave of digitalization, the new plan is embracing a new wave. As we all know, the new round of science and technology revolution, featuring the rapid development of AI, is thriving. The 15th five-year plan elaborates in a separate chapter how China can respond to the new trend of science and technology and industrial development. Compared with the previous plan, which emphasized 'digital economy,' the new plan highlights 'new intelligent economic forms,' which requires AI to be integrated into all aspects of economic development and to better empower growth. This will be an important direction for the future," said Dong Yu, Executive Deputy Director of the China Institute for Development Planning at Tsinghua University.

The plan also places new emphasis on high-quality population development, dedicating a separate section to supporting policies throughout the life cycle of its citizens based on China's long-term demographic trends.

"The role of human factors in China's development is becoming increasingly prominent. Economic work now places greater emphasis on combining investment in physical assets with investment in people. By dedicating a separate chapter to population issues, the plan is not focusing solely on birth rates. More importantly, it aims to build a full-chain support system covering needs from birth to growth to elderly care. The tasks laid out in the plan will match these needs, ensuring that the principle of putting people first is reflected across every stage of human development," said Dong.

China’s 15th five-year plan underscores digital intelligence, high-quality population development