Upcoming negotiations between Taiwanese and Chinese agencies will not touch on political issues, a senior Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said yesterday.
MAC Vice Chairman Fu Don-cheng (傅棟成) said that the agenda of the planned meeting between Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and his Chinese counterpart, Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), was clear.
“All the issues will focus on the economy,” he said.
Issues to be discussed would include cargo charter flights, direct sea links, aviation routes, postal cooperation and food safety, he said.
Fu made the remarks at a forum organized by Ming Chuan University yesterday to discuss the development of cross-strait relations and the meaning of Chen’s upcoming visit, scheduled for the end of this month or early next month.
Fu said both sides of the Strait have restored the negotiation mechanism between SEF and ARATS after a decade-long suspension.
At the upcoming meeting, Fu said both sides should “pay attention to the political reality of their mutual existence. Both sides do not deny each other and [should] conduct talks as equals.”
Fu said the purpose of deregulation and liberalization of cross-strait policy is to normalize bilateral trade, connect Taiwan with the world and create a more favorable business environment for investors.
“We will make sure that national security will not be compromised,” he said. “Nor will the sovereignty of the Republic of China be jeopardized.”
Chao Chien-min (趙建民), a professor at National Chengchi University, agreed, saying closer trade links would not harm Taiwan-centered consciousness or national sovereignty.
“No country or region in the world has been integrated by another because of closer trade relations,” he told the forum. “China does seek to unite with Taiwan, but the problem does not lie in closer economic ties but in the system.”
If Taiwanese cannot accept communism, he said, no matter how intimate the trade relations are, they will not choose to unify with China.
Chou Jih-shine (周繼祥), chairman of the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association, urged the SEF to solicit opinions from leaders of the private sector, academics and the Democratic Progressive Party when it comes to setting a cross-strait negotiation agenda.
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