Mon, Nov 03, 2008 page1

• ARATS head to arrive today for talks

  ITINERARY Chen Yunlin was to make a short speech at the Grand Hotel today and visit Taipei 101, while his vice chairman begins talks with the SEF vice chairman

  • By Ko Shu-ling / STAFF REPORTER, WITH AFP
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  With heavy security in place and plans for protests by the opposition, China’s top cross-strait negotiator is scheduled to arrive today for a five-day visit expected to cover four agreements on food safety, direct air and shipping links and direct postal services.

  Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Chairman Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) yesterday said Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) was scheduled to arrive at the Grand Hotel around noon.

  Chen was to make a short speech in the Grand Hotel lobby shortly after his arrival, where he would be welcomed by Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤).

  Later today, Chen is scheduled to visit Cecilia Koo (辜嚴倬雲), the widow of former SEF chairman Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫), and to tour Taipei 101.

  In the meantime, the SEF and ARATS vice chairmen will proceed with preparatory negotiations on the four agreements.

  Chen is scheduled to meet Chiang at the Grand Hotel tomorrow morning, with the two expected to sign all four agreements in the afternoon.

  The agreements address increasing direct passenger flights, opening direct cargo flights and shipping and shortening existing flight routes across the Taiwan Strait, officials said.

  Also on the agenda are food safety issues after tainted Chinese products sickened at least three Taiwanese children and one woman and sparked a countrywide melamine scare.

  Chen is also likely to meet President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

  “I will probably meet him [Chen Yunlin],” Ma said in a recent television interview. “The meeting will provide an important basis to promote cross-strait peace.”

  Although it was not originally on the agenda, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said on Friday that the government hoped to sign a memorandum of understanding on cross-strait financial supervision during Chen’s stay.

  Chen’s visit has proven a contentious issue that has divided public opinion.

  A recent survey by television station TVBS found that 33 percent of 901 people polled believed the nation would benefit from the talks. Another 22 percent disagreed, while 23 percent believed there would be no significant effect.

  Analysts said this week’s talks could mark a significant step in cross-strait relations.

  The talks will build on negotiations in June, when Chen and Chiang met in Beijing for the first direct dialogue between the two sides in a decade.

  “I think China will emerge as the winner in the talks by pulling off a major propaganda coup with Taiwan,” said Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), a political pundit at Soochow University in Taipei.

  Wu Nengyuan (吳能遠) of China’s Fujian Academy of Social Science, whose research focuses on Taiwan, said: “Chen’s visit to Taiwan is a landmark development in cross-strait ties.”

  “The agreements will give a major boost to Taiwan’s economy and trade,” he said.

  Also See: CROSS-STRAIT TALKS: Activists form anti-communist corps

  Also See: CROSS-STRAIT TALKS: Security ramped up for Chen trip

  Also See: CROSS-STRAIT TALKS: FEATURE: Chen's visit stokes debate on Ma's media favoritism
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