China reacts to Chen speech

China's Taiwan affairs spokesman Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) said yesterday that if Taiwan authorized civil organizations to negotiate the opening of direct links across the Strait, China would authorize counterparts it could negotiate with. It is China's first official response to President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) speech on May 10 in which he said that to resume cross-strait interaction, the government would consider authorizing civil groups to talk with China on the direct links. Zhang, spokesman for the Chinese State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, told a CNA reporter yesterday that since the direct links involve complicated matters of transportation, trade and post, he could not say which group would be authorized by Chinese authorities to talk to the Taiwanese side. But, if Taiwan's government named civil groups to negotiate these matters, he said, China would nominate appropriate counterparts. Zhang said that China had made it clear that it hoped to establish direct links as soon as possible.