The international community strongly approved of the recent deals signed between Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Fifty-five Taipei-based ambassadors and representatives attended a briefing at the ministry last night given by Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Lai Hsin-yuan (賴幸媛) and SEF Vice-President Kao Kong-lian (高孔廉) on the status of cross-strait relations.
The meeting was closed to reporters who were later briefed by ministry Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政).
Chen said that so far, more than 20 non-ally countries, including Turkey, Jordan, Indonesia, Russia, Japan and Australia, via their respective representative offices, have expressed positive sentiment to recent cross-strait development.
Singapore representative Stanely Loh read a statement from his foreign ministry that said, “[Singapore] welcomes the successful conclusion of the first-ever SEF-ARATS talks held in Taiwan and the four agreements signed. These talks mark the continuation of dialogue and cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. We are encouraged by the decision of both sides to continue their efforts to improve cross-strait relations to achieve win-win benefits for their people.”
When asked by Russian representative Sergey Gubarev on the details of the third cross-strait meeting, Lai reportedly answered that both sides had agreed to hold high-level dialogues twice a year alternating between Beijing and Taipei, adding that the nature of the issues would become more political as more talks were held.
Naohiro Tsutsumi, director-general of the Taipei Office of the Interchange Association, at a separate interview said Tokyo welcomed the continuation of the Taipei-Beijing talks in a peaceful manner and that it looked forward to the results of future meetings.
Chen said none of the ambassadors or representatives expressed concerns on the recent clashes that erupted between law enforcers and protestors in which approximately 80 people were injured.
“Taiwan’s international image was somewhat tarnished by the clashes but that’s inevitable in a growing democracy,” he said, adding that ARATS Chairman Chen Yun-lin’s (陳雲林) refusal to call President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) by his official designation was “prior agreed by both sides.”
During a press conference held at the Government Information Office earlier yesterday, Lai dismissed accusations that the country’s sovereignty was belittled during Chen’s visit.
In response to Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang’s (秦剛) statement that “there is only one China” following Ma’s meeting with Chen Yunlin on Thursday, Lai insisted that the Republic of China is a sovereign country, and both Ma and the MAC had stressed on many occasions that Taiwan’s future would be determined by the Taiwanese people.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MO YAN-CHIH
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