On January 1, 1979, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress issued a message to Taiwan compatriots, declaring the Chinese Government's position regarding peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question and then;

On September 30, 1981, then NPC Standing Committee Chairman Ye Jianying(叶剑英) issued a statement further elaborating the policy and principles for the settlement of the Taiwan question.
In 1987, the Taiwan authorities allowed Taiwanese people to visit their relatives on the mainland, ending 38 years of isolation across the Taiwan Straits.

In 1992, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) reached an informal agreement that "the two sides of the Straits adhere to the one-China principle." It is the so-called "1992 Consensus."

In April 1993, ARATS Chairman Wang Daohan and SEF President Koo Ken-fu held a historic meeting in Singapore.

On January 30, 1995, then General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President Jiang Zemin(江泽民) put forward eight propositions on the development of relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits and the peaceful reunification of China. The speech came to be known as "Jiang Ba Dian" or the Eight-Point Proposition by Jiang Zemin.

In October 1998, SEF President Koo Chen-fu held his second meeting with ARATS Chairman Wang Dao-han and met President Jiang Zemin during his six-day visit to Shanghai and Beijing.

On July 9, 1999, Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui put forward the infamous "two states" theory in which he defined cross-Straits relations as "state-to-state or special state-to-state relationship."

On May 20, 2000, Chen Shui-bian from the pro-"independence" Democratic Progressive Party came into power, ending Kuomintang's 51-year rule of the island.

On August 3, 2002, Chen preached "one country on each side (of the Taiwan Straits)," triggering new tensions in cross-Straits ties.

On March 20, 2004, Chen Shui-bian held the so-called "defensive referendum" alongside the "presidential" polls.

On March 4, 2005, President Hu Jintao put forth a four-point guideline on the development of cross-Straits relations "under the new circumstances:" First, "never sway in adhering to the one-China principle;" Secondly, "never give up efforts to seek peaceful reunification;" Thirdly, "never to change the principle of placing hope on the Taiwan people;" Fourthly, "never compromise in opposing the 'Taiwan independence' secessionist activities."