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Taiwan president upbeat ahead of China talks: envoy
Taipei (AFP) April 24, 2009 Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou is positive talks with China this weekend will bring the two sides closer as bilateral ties continue to flourish, an official said Friday. Envoys from quasi-official bodies representing the two sides are making final preparations before meeting in the Chinese city of Nanjing on Sunday, said Chiang Pin-kung, the island's top envoy dealing with the mainland. "The president thinks the third round of talks would be of significance in the improvement of cross-Strait ties," Chiang, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), told reporters. On Sunday, negotiators from the SEF and their Chinese counterpart Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits will discuss financial cooperation, increased cross-Strait flights, crime-fighting and the issue of allowing mainlanders to invest in Taiwan. Sunday's meeting aims to build on talks held in Beijing in June last year, the first direct dialogue between the two sides after a 10-year gap. That led to the launch of regular direct flights across the Taiwan Strait and measures to boost tourism in a significant step for both sides. The two rivals then signed a range of follow-up deals here in November aimed at bringing them closer economically. Chiang quoted a statement from Ma saying that the past 11 months of activity "has greatly helped Taiwan's economy and improved people's welfare". China views Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. The two sides have been governed separately since they split at the end of a civil war in 1949. But relations have improved dramatically since Ma became Taiwan's president last May. "The cross-Strait ties, and even the triangle Taiwan-China-United States ties have been improving to their best-ever levels in six decades," Ma said in the statement. Beijing had been repeatedly irked by the pro-independence remarks of Ma's predecessor Chen Shui-bian during his eight years in office until 2008, labelling Taiwan as a "trouble-maker" in the Sino-US ties. However the pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party accuses the Ma administration of selling out Taiwan's interests in exchange for closer cross-Strait ties and on Friday warned against further concessions to Beijing. "The DPP does not oppose talking with China. But the past negotiations indicated that the Ma administration has failed to safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty and interest," DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen said in a statement. The 22-member delegation to Nanjing will also visit Taiwanese-invested businesses in China before wrapping up their trip on April 29. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com
'Low-key' Taiwan leader seeks US arms
Washington (AFP) April 22, 2009Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou appealed Wednesday to the United States to sell it jet fighters and support its entry into global organizations, promising he would try not to annoy rival China. |
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