Mainland Chinese officials regard the more moderate position adopted by Taiwan's new president, Ma Ying-jeou, with some skepticism.

Ma, leader of Taiwan's Kuomintang Party, holds the position that Taiwan -- which calls itself the Republic of China -- is an independent country. To some mainland scholars that formulation is not much different from former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's more outspoken and confrontational "Taiwan independence" position.

Given the unstable nature of the political relationship, the Chinese armed forces are not willing to risk a relaxation of their preparations for military conflict with Taiwan.

There are also other factors that would make it difficult for the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China to stand down in the Taiwan Strait, even if it did trust the Taiwanese regime on the island.

Since 1994, when cross-strait relations began to deteriorate, China has concentrated its military focus on coping with a contingency on the southeast coast.

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