Introduction: Taiwan at a crossroads

Cross-Strait relations have been stable since May 2008, when Ma Ying-jeou took office in Taiwan. This stability in cross-Strait relations reflects policy stability on both sides. The policy began under much less favorable conditions, when Taiwan was led by Chen Shui-bian and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). On the mainland side, the new PRC leadership headed by Xi Jinping that came to power at the eighteenth-Party Congress in 2012 and the National People's Congress the following spring signaled continuity in Beijing's policies towards Taiwan. Beijing has recognized and continues to recognize that "peaceful development" is the best situation it can achieve in relations with Taiwan for now and for a relatively long time to come. With Ma in power in Taiwan and with the mainland under Hu Jintao committing to a peaceful development strategy for Taiwan policy, the peaceful development framework has become the dominant feature of cross-Strait relations.