TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chinese state-run media on Sunday (Oct. 16) described the Kuomingtang (KMT) as a "Taiwan Area political party" after it congratulated the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

China's state-operated Xinhua on Sunday issued a report stating that the "Taiwan Area relevant political parties, groups, and people expressed congratulations in various forms" for the convening of the congress. It reported that the KMT's central committee had sent a congratulatory message to its counterpart in the CCP stating that on the basis of the "1992 Consensus" and the opposition to Taiwan independence, cross-strait exchanges, and cooperation have yielded fruitful results.

The KMT expressed its hopes that the two parties will continue to "communicate, cooperate sincerely, deepen mutual trust, seek common ground, jointly enhance the rights and interests of people on both sides of the strait, strive to maintain peace and stability across the strait, and create prosperous development of cross-strait relations."

The report said the CCP's central committee responded by saying that over the years, the two parties have jointly promoted the peaceful development of cross-strait relations on the basis of adhering to the "1992 Consensus" and opposing Taiwan independence and benefiting compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

It stated that presently, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is "becoming more and more complex and severe." The CCP expressed its hope that the two parties will "understand the overall situation, observe the general situation, stick to righteousness, strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, deepen cooperation on the basis of existing common politics, and work together for peace across the Taiwan Strait."

Indicating continued plans for the annexation of Taiwan, it also pledged that the two parties would work together for the "well-being of our fellow citizens, national unity, and national rejuvenation."

At the end of the report, it noted that former chairs of the KMT Lien Chan (連戰) and Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), New Party Chairperson Wu Cherng-dean (吳成典), and Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Chairman Lin Pin-kuan (林炳坤) had also send congratulatory letters. The letters reportedly expressed the hope that "compatriots on both sides of the strait would gather wisdom, make a concerted effort, work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and seek the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."