Mainland's Taiwan affairs chief urges adherence to 1992 Consensus

BEIJING -- The Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs chief has said that mainland policies on Taiwan remain unchanged and urged the island to stick to the 1992 Consensus as the political foundation for the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.

Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks during a conversation on Tuesday afternoon with Taiwan's mainland affairs chief Andrew Hsia via a hotline.

According to Zhang, the 1992 Consensus, with its core implication that both sides belong to one China, is crucial for the peaceful development and various achievements made for cross-Straits relations over the past several years. Denying this political foundation will inevitably alter the status quo.

Zhang also briefed Hsia on a batch of telecom fraud suspects, including Taiwan residents, seized by mainland police.

According to Zhang, telecom and Internet fraud have been rampant in recent years.

Several Taiwan suspects allegedly conducted fraudulent activities from overseas bases that led to huge losses from mainland victims and they must be brought to justice, he said.