Taipei and Beijing last week began preparing to sign an agreement on nuclear safety as China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Yang Yi (楊毅) yesterday said that China would “seriously consider” the possibility of establishing a mechanism to exchange information.
However, Yang was noncommittal as to whether a deal would be sealed during the upcoming meeting between Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) this year, despite the call by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration to do so.
“The two sides could establish a mechanism to inform each other of the situations and communicate with each other on how to strengthen the exchanges of -technology and skills,” he said. “When both sides are ready, the SEF and ARATS could invite experts to negotiate the issue.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
As the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party prepare to participate in a cross-strait economy and culture forum in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, next month, Yang said the two sides would touch on the issue of nuclear safety during the meeting. The Mainland Affairs Council has authorized the SEF to negotiate an agreement on nuclear security with ARATS.
An insider to cross-strait affairs said the SEF and ARATS exchanged opinions on Friday, when both sides agreed to “seriously consider” placing nuclear safety on the agenda of the Chiang-Chen meeting.
The two sides’ supervisory agencies also began to study the possibility of signing the deal, which would include an emergency notification system, the official said.
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