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Cross-strait talks to touch on exchange of rep offices: SEF head

ROC Central News Agency

Tokyo, Aug. 26 (CNA) A new round of negotiations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait slated for this autumn will discuss issues regarding an exchange of visa-issuing offices, Taiwan's top negotiator with China said in Tokyo Tuesday.

"The proposed exchange of visa offices is aimed at attracting more Chinese tourists to Taiwan and offering easier access for Taiwan businessmen seeking to tap into the vast Chinese market," said Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).

Chiang, a vice chairman of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) , is visiting Japan in his capacity as head of the SEF, a quasi-official intermediary body authorized to handle negotiations and exchanges with China in the absence of official ties between the two sides.

Chiang told a group of Japanese journalists that the SEF and its Chinese counterpart -- the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) -- will hold a new round of talks in Taipei in October or November.

The agenda items will also include issues regarding turning the existing weekend direct cross-strait charter flights into regular flight services, Chiang went on.

Predicting that the exchange of visa offices and expansion of flight services will boost civic exchanges, Chiang said such interaction will boost mutual understanding, which might eventually inspire China to think about overhauling its political system and to refer to Taiwan's political and economic development formula for adopting democracy.

Earlier in the day, Chiang delivered a speech on the latest developments in cross-strait relations at the headquarters of the Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) , one of the largest economic organizations in Japan.

In his speech, Chiang said the coming five to 10 years will be crucial to Taiwan's development and that whether the two sides of the Taiwan Strait will enjoy lasting peace will rely on their leaders' visions and determination, particularly President Ma Ying-jeou's courage and wisdom.

Chiang is accompanied by four KMT lawmakers Lee Hung-chun, Lee Chia-chin, Lee Fu-hsing and Lin Yu-fang. (By Yang Ming-chu and Sofia Wu) ENDITEM/J