Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) arrived in Beijing yesterday for historic talks on improved cross-strait relations.
“We hope through the talks this time that the two sides will be able to achieve a win-win situation so that people across the Taiwan Strait can live better,” Chiang said before departing Taipei.
He said his four-day trip to Beijing was a “journey to build mutual trust” with China.
PHOTO: AP
The two sides had their first historic talks in 1993 in Singapore, but China suspended further dialogue in 1999 to retaliate against Taiwanese officials advocating independence.
“Although the schedule sounds simple, the task is very heavy and the significance is also quite heavy,” Chiang said.
“These meeting topics are a starting point, which affects the development of relations between the two sides,” he said.
“Basically, what we are trying to achieve through the talks is cross-strait peace and prosperity as well as stability in the Asia-Pacific region,” Chiang said.
The delegation was welcomed upon its arrival by Zheng Lizhong (鄭立中), the executive deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office in China’s State Council.
Liang was scheduled to escort the 19-member delegation to a formal reception last night.
Weekend charter flights and opening Taiwan to more Chinese tourists will be discussed by Chiang and his Chinese counterpart Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), head of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) today.
Chiang was expected to sign agreements with Chen and then meet Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) tomorrow. The delegation will return home on Saturday.
The group flew from Taipei to Macau and then took an Air Macau flight to Beijing. Chiang did not make any public comments upon arrival.
The official China Daily said yesterday that this week’s meeting reflected the “warming of relations” since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) replaced former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Meanwhile, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said yesterday that the cross-strait cargo charter flight issue would surely be included in today’s negotiation, rebutting criticism that the government had allowed Beijing to set the agenda for the talks.
Liu said the deals on direct weekend charter flights for passengers and Chinese tourists would materialize soon because both sides of the Strait had exchanged views on the issues many times.
“But there surely will be discussion of the cargo flight issue during the negotiation,” he said, adding that he would comment further after the negotiations.
Liu said the Cabinet was scheduled to approve a proposal next Thursday to open the small three links — the direct transportation between Kinmen and Matsu and the Chinese port cities of Xiamen and Fuzhou — to all Taiwanese.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense announced yesterday that it had indefinitely postponed a live-fire exercise scheduled for tomorrow on Kinmen, after holding one on Monday.
“Cross-strait relations is one of the factors weighed when we made the decision,” ministry spokeswoman Chi Yu-lan (池玉蘭) told Agence France-Presse.
“We are pleased to see bilateral ties moving on the track of peace and stability,” she said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old