Taiwan president hopes to see institutionalized cross-strait talks

[By Ruth Wang]

Taipei, June 9 (CNA) - President Ma Ying-jeou expressed hope Monday that talks between the quasi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), later this week will establish systematic channels for continued talks.

Ma made the remarks while meeting with SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung, who is in charge of Taiwan's contacts with China in the absence of official ties.

Chiang will lead a delegation to Beijing Wednesday for talks with ARATS officials on the launch of direct cross-strait weekend charter flights and the opening of Taiwan to more Chinese tourists.

Ma noted that the delegation is the only team with official authorization to have talks with China and said the talks will have historic meaning, as they will be the first negotiation since the last bilateral talks a decade ago by late SEF Chairman Koo Chen-fu and late ARATS Chairman Wang Daohan.

Ma said institutionalized channels are necessary for cross-strait affairs, which are too complicated to be solved at one time.

Taking the charter flight issue as an example, Ma said systematic talks will not only give the opportunity for thorough discussion on weekend charter flights but will also help extend the negotiations to regular charter flights on weekdays in the future.

Chiang told Ma that he will try to seek positive interaction with his Chinese counterpart without hurting Taiwan's dignity. He also expressed hope that the delegation will take the first step firmly as a good start in the bilateral talks.

The delegation has 19 members, including Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Fu Don-cheng and Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Oliver Fang-Lai Yu. The MAC is the Cabinet-level organization that coordinates the country's China policy.

Ma said the talks between the two semi-official bodies will achieve positive results both for Taiwan's development and for bilateral relations.

Source: Central News Agency website, Taipei, in English 1201 gmt 9 Jun 08

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