Ma: Peace agreement with mainland 'possible'

BEIJING - Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou said on Monday that the island should consider a peace treaty with the mainland in a decade if most residents on the island reach a consensus, a gesture that mainland experts said could be "a step to end cross-Straits antagonism".

Ma suggested a peace agreement with the mainland is possible when attending a press briefing in Taipei, but indicated that the agreement had to depend on preconditions, Xinhua News Agency reported.

One precondition for the agreement would be "a high level of support from Taiwan's public", Ma said at the briefing, where he outlined his policy for the next 10 years and gave an outlook of cross-Straits relations.