Politics absent from upcoming cross-strait negotiations: MAC

Fu Don-cheng, a MAC vice chairman, made the comment a few days after President Ma Ying-jeou told India and Global Affairs that he will try his utmost to achieve the goal of signing a peace accord with Beijing within his tenure in office.

“It has been decided that no political issues will be raised during the upcoming meeting between Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Taipei-based quasi-official intermediary body Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), and Chen Yunlin, president of the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), or among members of their respective organizations,” he said, after speaking at a workshop organized by Minchuan University on the development of cross-strait relations and the implications of Chen’s planned visit to Taiwan.

Chen and his group are expected to visit the island at the end of this month or in early November for a new round of SEF-ARATS talks, to discuss the possibility of opening cross-strait cargo charter flights, direct shipping links, and the establishment of more direct cross-strait air routes.

The scheduled meeting will be a follow-up to a landmark meeting in Beijing between the Chiang and Chen in mid-June, during which both sides reached an agreement on weekend cross-strait charter flights and the expansion of the number of Chinese tourists to Taiwan.

Yet, he pointed out that the negotiations between the two intermediary bodies have proceeded on an equal footing and with no compromise of Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Because Taiwan and China have adopted a non-denial attitude on the issue, Taiwan’s national dignity and security “will not be damaged” during the meeting, he added.

“The meeting marks a new era of pragmatic cross-strait negotiations,” he continued, stressing that any disputes that occur during cross-strait exchanges can now be better addressed within such a framework.

Also, he noted that cross-strait normalization will eventually enhance the prospects of cross-strait peace, which in turn would contribute to regional security and stability.

Based on the European experience, Chao Chien-ming, director of the Sun Yat-sen Graduate Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities at National Cheng Chi University, stressed that countries do not forfeit their sovereignty as a result of successful economic integration.

Increasing the country’s competitiveness and internationalization should further enhance Taiwan stance on sovereignty, he pointed out.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email