With two weeks to go before Tsai Ying-wen delivers her inaugural speech as the new leader of Taiwan, it looks increasingly clear that the current impasse between the Chinese mainland and the new caretakers in the island will not end any time soon.

A dose of political realism is thus critical for crisis prevention at such a tricky juncture.

Through an article published in People's Daily, the central authorities reiterated that not adhering to the 1992 Consensus, in which it was agreed both sides of the Straits belong to one China, constitutes sabotaging the common political foundation for cross-Straits ties.