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Cross-strait talks should be accelerated: president

ROC Central News Agency

2008-06-15 02:52:20

    Taipei, June 14 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou said Saturday institutionalized negotiations across the Taiwan Strait should be accelerated to resolve many practical issues that the public have long anticipated.

    Ma made the remarks while meeting with Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kun who returned earlier in the day from Beijing after singing two agreements with his Chinese counterpart, Chen Yulin of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) on expanding cross-strait charter flights and tourism.

    Praising Chiang for having helped establish an institutionalized cross-strait communication channel through his just-concluded visit, Ma said systematic cross-strait talks should be expanded and accelerated to meet public expectations for increased bilateral exchanges.

    In his view, Ma said cross-strait talks can be carried out at different levels. "If necessary, we can also appoint different groups of delegates to tackle different issues in Taiwan or on the mainland simultaneously, " he exlained, adding that such arrangements will enhance efficiency and benefit both sides..

    The newly signed SEF-ARATS agreements will allow for the launch of direct cross-strait charter flights on weekends from July 4 and entry of Chinese tourists from July 18. "The two agreements mark a big step forward in cross-strait relations, " Ma said, adding that he looks forward to continued SEF-ARATS negotiations on many unsolved issues, including an early launch of cross-strait cargo charter services, opening of new cross-strait flight routes and expansion of weekend charter flights into scheduled flights on weekdays.

    To save fuel costs and time, Ma said the existing cross-strait flight route that requires a detour to pass the Hong Kong flight information zone should be revised to allow for aircraft to fly along a more straight line.

    Following a nine-year hiatus in cross-strait dialogue, Ma said, many issues are pending. "We should work out a priority list and settle all listed items as soon as possible in order to maximize the benefits to be brought about by the opening of weekend charter flights and expansion of tourism," he added.

    Vice President Vincent Siew and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan were also present at the meeting that took place at the Presidential Office.

    The SEF delegation, headed by Chiang, arrived in Beijing Wednesday for a resumption of institutionalized cross-strait dialogue that had been stalled since 1999 when then ROC President Lee Teng-hui described cross-strait ties as a special state-to-state relationship. The description angered Beijing which viewed it as amove to promote Taiwan independence.

    Relations remained chilly during the ensuing eight years which saw the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party take the helm of Taiwan's government.

    Icy relations gradually thawed after Taiwan's March 22 presidential election in which Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang, which adopts a more China-friendly approach, won a landslide over his DPP rival.

    The expansion of charter flights was a key topic for the talks that began Thursday. Those flights are now limited to four annual traditional Chinese festivals and are usually packed with Taiwanese residents on the mainland returning home to visit family.

    The launch of weekend charter flights on July 4 and expansion of tourism mark a huge step forward in establishing contacts and mutual trust, Chiang said after signed the pacts at a state guesthouse in western Beijing Friday.

    Taiwan has banned direct scheduled flights ever since it split from China in 1949 following a bitter civil war.

    The new transport pact will allow for 36 charter flights to cross the Taiwan Strait per week, running from Friday to Monday. Flights will be shared equally between Chinese and Taiwanese airlines, servicing routes between the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Nanjing and Taiwan's capital, Taipei, and seven other cities on the island. Flights would be open to anyone carrying valid documents, a change from the past when they were limited to just Taiwanese and Chinese.

    A separate tourism agreement permits up to 3,000 Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan each day for stays of up to 10 days. According to the pact, up to 1 million Chinese tourists will be allowed to enter Taiwan for pleasure trips annually, well above the current level of about 80,000.

    The pacts were the first to be signed on Chinese soil. The previous SEF-ARATS agreements that set the tone for systematic engagements in the 1990s were signed in Singapore.

(By Sofia Wu)

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