President in bid for talks

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that the normalization of the cross-strait relationship should start with a political, military and economic balance between the two sides. "The negotiation between the two sides should have no preconditions and its agenda should set aside controversial issues," Chen said while receiving a delegation of Japanese lawmakers at the Presidential Office. The president also stressed that Beijing should abandon its military expansion and stop threatening Taiwan. In addition, Chen said that Taiwan should attend to the "magnet" effect of the mainland and make sure that Taiwan's economic development does not overtly tilt toward the China market. Chen appealed to his Japanese visitors to further promote the harmonious relationship between Taiwan and Japan.