Former National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi played down Thursday the secret communication channels that exist between Taiwan and China, calling on the public to take what he described as the 'normal' situation in stride. Su pointed out that the era in which Taiwan refused to contact, negotiate or compromise with China is over. 'There needs to be communication, contact, negotiation and compromise between the two sides. In the process of such contact, there certainly are various channels, ' Su said when asked about the issue by Taiwanese reporters during a visit to San Francisco. Su had previously disclosed that there are around 20 channels of communication across the Taiwan Strait, including some that are clandestine. He explained Thursday that since the inauguration of President Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan has signed 12 agreements with China, each of which was the result of communication between related agencies of both sides. According to Su, the secret channels are 'not a big deal' and 'very normal in the international community in the 21st century.' He claimed that the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) also maintains dialogue channels with China, which he said was the reason why his disclosure of the government's secret ones did not draw much criticism from the DPP. 