The conclusion of the third round of talks between negotiators from Taiwan and China was significant because it indicated that cross-strait negotiation channels are now fully functional, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said yesterday.
MAC Vice Chairman Chao Chien-min (趙建民) made the remarks at a seminar co-hosted by the council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to brief members of the foreign diplomatic corps on the outcome of the third round of talks between the cross-strait negotiators.
He said the talks demonstrated that the mechanisms put in place to facilitate cross-strait dialogue were now fully functional and that the focus remained on matters of economic importance.
The discussions also signal continued improvement in cross-strait relations and greater security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.
Singling out an agreement on mutual juridical assistance that was signed between the two sides, Chao said the agreement was conducive to upholding the rights and interests of the people on both sides of the Strait and bringing order to cross-strait exchanges.
The latest round of talks between Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait were held last Sunday in the Chinese city of Nanjing.
Negotiators signed three agreements covering the launch of regular cross-strait passenger flights, mutual juridical assistance and joint cross-strait crime fighting, as well as financial cooperation. A joint statement on a proposal to open Taiwan to Chinese investment was also released at the talks.
In a question-and-answer session at the seminar yesterday, Tamas Feher, deputy head of the Hungarian Trade Office in Taipei, asked how many similar meetings would be needed before the two sides of the Taiwan Strait could put more sensitive issues on the agenda.
“We won’t have a fixed agenda until we have a better consensus on our relationship with China, or until we have better trust between the two sides,” Deputy Foreign Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言) said.
Political issues such as a peace accord and greater military confidence are not the top priorities at the moment, Chao said.
Economic issues and the expansion of Taiwan’s participation in the international community would remain the two pillars of the government’s cross-strait policy, he added.
“There are many things waiting there for our attention. We don’t think we can handle so many things at the same time,” Chao said. “As more and more practical issues are resolved, [sensitive issues] might surface in the next few years.”
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