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Taiwan urges faster implementation of cross-strait pacts

ROC Central News Agency

2010/12/21 19:27:22

Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) Taiwan urged China Tuesday to speed up implementation of the accords signed between the two sides over the past two and a half years.

Addressing the opening of the latest round of highest-level cross-strait meetings in Taipei, Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin- kung said the rapprochement that began after President Ma Ying- jeou took office in 2008 has contributed greatly to increasing cultural, scientific, educational, trade and economic exchanges between the two sides.

However, he said, "implementation of some of the accords signed has fallen short of expectations and needs to be enhanced."

Chiang and his Chinese counterpart, Chen Yunlin, president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, have forged a total of 14 cross-strait agreements in their last five meetings.

For example, Taiwan and China have joined forces several times to bust cross-strait fraud rings since a pact on crime-fighting and judicial cooperation was signed April, 2009, but "there is a long way to go to obtain repatriation of Taiwanese economic criminals hiding in China," Chiang said.

Many prominent businesspersons who are listed as wanted in Taiwan for committing serious financial crimes are still in hiding in China.

He also mentioned the cross-strait Air Transportation Agreement inked in November 2008 to open direct air links and expand tourism exchanges between the two sides, saying the number of cross-strait flights needs to be increased to meet market demand.

Over 1.74 million Chinese tourists have visited Taiwan since a tourism deal was concluded in May 2008, but the number is still lower than expected and the measure is yet to be expanded, especially to allow individual Chinese tourist to visit Taiwan, he said.

Currently, a maximum of 3,000 Chinese tourists are allowed into Taiwan each day in tour groups. Taiwan's tourism sector has been asking that the number be increased and that the process of allowing individual visits be speeded up.

In response, Chen said that most of the cross-strait agreements have been well implemented but "it would be difficult for all details of the pacts to be implemented 100 percent."

He said he agreed with Chiang that both sides should establish a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the agreements.

In addition, in future negotiations, the two sides should focus more on ways of increasing cultural exchanges, he said. (By Kang Shih-jen & Bear Lee) enditem /pc