The Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (
Wu said yesterday that he was willing to visit China as long as no conditions were set for him doing so, and also welcomed Chinese officials to visit Taiwan.
"If Beijing wishes to show some sincerity, I'm willing to accept their invitation to visit China, as long as no preconditions are set," Wu said. "By the same token, we sincerely welcome Chinese officials to visit Taiwan and talk with the [Chen] administration."
Wu said that he did not care whether he visited China in his capacity as head of the Mainland Affairs Council or not, because it was an undeniable fact that he was the council head, no matter what Beijing wanted to call him.
Wu made the remarks while delivering a lunchtime speech at a forum organized by the Cross-Strait Study Association in Taipei to mark the first anniversary of the passing of China's "Anti-Secession" Law.
Wu dismissed speculation that his council had twice rejected applications from the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office Chen Yunlin (
"If I plan to visit any country, it is a normal practice to contact the country of destination about my planned visit so they will understand the purpose of my visit and agree to my application," Wu said. "However, we were sorry to see that Mr. Chen did not do that."
Wu said the administration would soon make public a concrete plan on the "active management, effective opening" cross-strait economic policy.
Wu said that the plan would be made public as soon as the Executive Yuan gives it the go-ahead.
The public has anticipated an explanation of how the policy would be implemented ever since President Chen Shui-bian (
"The purpose of the policy adjustment was to ensure that cross-strait economic exchanges are organized more systematically so that businesses have a clearer set of rules to follow," he said.
The council would also call a meeting next week to discuss the possibility of relaxing regulations on cross-strait cultural and professional exchanges, he said.
If the regulations were relaxed, Chinese professionals and entertainers would be allowed to conduct commercial activities here, he said.
When talking about the future development of cross-strait relations, Wu said that it was the government's established policy to safeguard peace and democracy and maintain the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
The administration would also push aggressively for cross-strait exchanges and negotiations, he said.
"It is a sign of our goodwill that we have invited Chinese officials to visit Taiwan and discuss priority issues," Wu said.
"We hope the Chinese government will reciprocate and make adjustments to its cross-strait policy in order to remove certain obstructions to interaction and to usher in a new era of reconciliation and co-existence," he said.
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