【明報專訊】ON the 40th anniversary of the issuance of the "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan", Chinese President Xi Jinping put forth a five-point proposal concerning Taiwan (hereafter "the 5-point proposal"). For the first time it has been proposed that to achieve peaceful reunification, "a plan of one country, two systems for Taiwan" will be explored. The 5-point proposal is an important watershed in mainland China's Taiwan policy. It shows that Beijing is already studying and formulating steps towards reunification. Beijing will contact different sectors of Taiwan proactively to pursue reunification, regardless of who is in government in Taipei. Over the last two years, Washington has been hollowing out the meaning of its One China policy to give a fillip to Taiwan's independence movement. Even though Xi Jinping has not proposed a timetable for reunification, he has in fact made it clear that the mainland will no longer defer tackling the Taiwan question. All parties involved may slowly be moving to the critical point of showdown.