For four consecutive days, personages from various circles of life in Taiwan have sent in messages to express their condolences over the death of Wang Daohan, praising his contr ibutions to cross-Straits relations and calling for the earlier reunification of China.

The messages were addressed to the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), of which Wang had served as president for more than a decade.

Wang, known for his great contributions to the development of cross-Straits relations, died of disease in Shanghai last week at the age of 90.

Wu Poh-hsiung, vice president of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, said in a message that Wang, a forerunner of cross-Straits relations, had won respects from different circles of life on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

"We do hope that the cross-Straits relations can develop in a continuous manner as Wang had expected," he said.

Other senior KMT officials also delivered condolence messages to ARATS in their own capacity.

"In his fourteen years as the leader of ARATS, Mr. Wang had laid a sound foundation for the peaceful reunification of China and a constructive relationship across the Straits," said Hsu Linung, president of Hsin Tungmung Hui, and his colleagues in a message.

"He deserves eternal respects and memory by all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation," said the message.

According to Chiu Cheyne, former secretary-general of the Taiwan-based Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), Wang's contributions to the cross-Straits relations will sure be recorded in the history.

A number of major Taiwan-based newspapers have carried on their frontpages the news of Wang's death, expressing the hope that the two sides across the Straits can soon open consultations on the basis of the 1992 Consensus reached between Wang and Koo Chenfu, Wang's counterpart in Taiwan.

Early this year, Koo, chairman of the SEF, died at the age of 88.

The Taiwan-based United Daily News devoted much space to comments on Wang's death, and reported in detail the responses from various walks of life in Taiwan.

"Taiwan and the mainland have failed to find a common dialogue platform since the Democratic Progressive Party put forth the 'state-to-state' doctrine and denied the one-China principle," it said.

An editorial by the Taiwan-based Central Daily News said what should be considered now is how to break the current deadlock for cross-Straits relations.

"The key issue is that the 1992 Consensus should be well accepted," it said.

Source: Xinhua