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The improvement in cross strait relations as a result of initiatives of the Ma Ying-jeou administration in Taiwan raised questions about the likely course of action to be followed by each of the three main actors influencing cross strait relations, the administrations of China, Taiwan, and the United States. This paper assesses salient costs and benefits for the respective administrations of significant change or continuity in their approaches to cross strait issues in order to determine their likely approaches and what these approaches mean for cross strait relations. It does so after examining relevant background influencing the three administrations' recent behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the changing nature of China's policy toward Taiwan. Many of the sharpest debates in Taiwan, the US and elsewhere have been over whether recent modifications in policy represent a genuine overhaul in Beijing's approach to Taipei. To simplify, some argue that meaningful change already is happening and that such developments warrant careful study and attention. But skeptics conclude that it isn't happening. As one Taiwanese lawmaker complained, the new strategy is designed to "undermine the power of the [Taiwan] government…it's a poison coated with sugar." After analyzing various indicators, this study shows how theories and/or conceptual frameworks often employed in the fields of international relations and comparative politics might help analysts unravel some parts of the complicated puzzle that constitutes China's policy toward Taiwan. In conclusion, however, the author suggests that it is probable that decision-makers in Taipei will require more facts—not theories—before they agree that there is a genuine "paradigm shift" in Beijing's approach to the thorny Taiwan dispute. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses changes and continuity in the relationship between Taiwan and China known as Cross-Strait Relations. It states that nationalism became an important factor in Taiwan which affected Cross-Strait Relations. It mentions that the main issues between the two are political and economic interdependence. It highlights stand of various political parties on the relations such as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).