History books way to ease ties
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Publishing groups on the Chinese mainland are calling for both sides of the Straits to work together on historical books in an effort to promote mutual understanding ahead of next year's centennial of the Revolution of 1911.
Nie Zhenning, chairman of the China Publishing Group, said that the mainland industry on the publishing is eager to publish academic works by Taiwan scholars related to the milestone revolution.
Nie made the comments on a visit to Taiwan on Monday with several other high-ranking administrators from mainland publishing groups.
The General Administration of Press and Publication plans to publish 17 works to mark the 100th anniversary of the Revolution of 1911 (or Xinhai Revolution), which took place on October 10 of that year to end the rule of China's last feudal dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911).
The revolution also led to the founding of the Republic of China (ROC) in 1912, under the governance of the Kuomintang, which currently rules Taiwan.
"Cross-Straits communication can start from reading each other's history books, and understanding the differences in order to reach consensus," said Huang Ko-wu, director of the Institute of Modern History at the Taiwan-based Academia Sinica, the report said.
In addition, the mainland and Taiwan are gearing up for a series of large-scale commemorative events next year.
Four mainland cities are planning to build commemorative structures for the Xinhai Revolution anniversary, including Wuhan in Hubei Province, which has invested some 20 billion yuan (US$3 billion) in maintaining the historical ruins left from the first battle of the revolution.
Taiwan's "Council for Cultural Affairs" is marking the anniversary by preparing a documentary movie paying tribute to Sun Yat-sen, who led the Revolution and founded the ROC.
The focus of the movie will be Sun Yat-sen's activities in Taiwan, as part of the Taiwan government's efforts to emphasize "Taiwan Identity" during next year's celebration.
"It reflects the current Taiwan government's consistent policy toward the mainland, which is focused on developing economic ties but seldom touches on sensitive political issues," Leng Bo, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Wednesday.
Leng said that Taiwan people's sense of Chinese identity has weakened in the past 20 years under the governance of Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian, two pro-independence politicians, harming efforts at cross-Straits compromise.
"If joint celebrations for the Xinhai Revolution are possible, that will be a good opportunity for the mainland and Taiwan to build a sense of identity through historical ties," he said.
Wang Shuzeng, the mainland writer who penned an account of the revolution in his book 1911, said that the event has had a far-reaching impact for Chinese people all over the world, and only by learning from their ancestors together can they work out a way to future prosperity.
