Beijing says it is prepared to conclude ECFA with Taipei

No one on a Taipei delegation to a Xiamen conference yesterday was prepared for what Wang Yi, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council in Beijing would announce.

Speaking at the meeting of the Straits Forum on China-Taiwan Relations, Wang said Beijing is now ready to negotiate and conclude an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with Taipei.

“The mainland,” Wang said, “is willing to cooperate, ready to negotiate an agreement with Taiwan on their economic cooperation framework at the earliest possible date.” “We are making preparations for that process,” Wang told the astonished delegates from Taiwan, led by magistrate of Taoyuan Chu Lih-lun.

They are taking part in a weeklong forum session in four different cities, including Xiamen or Amoy, in the province of Fujian May 16-22.

Taipei never thought its urgent proposal to sign the ECFA would be accepted so soon. Beijing did not respond when P.K. Chiang, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), met his Chinese counterpart Chen Yunlin in Nanjing at the end of last month despite President Ma Ying-jeou's urgent call for the conclusion of an ECFA.

At their Nanjing meeting, the third one since President Ma took office, Chiang and Chen, chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), were not agreed that the ECFA should be discussed at their fourth, which is expected to take place in Taipei in November or early December at the latest.

Wang also announced measures the People's Republic of China is ready to take to help President Ma better cope with the global financial crisis.

China's businesses will be encouraged to invest in Taiwan, Wang said, while Beijing will invite Taiwan businesses to expand operations on the mainland.

“The global financial crisis is affecting both sides of the Strait, and we are concerned about the Taiwan economy and Taiwan's compatriots' difficulties,” Wang said, adding: “We are ready to give all we can to help them out.”

He said China would buy more products from Taiwan, encourage more Chinese tourists to visit the island and allow law firms in Taiwan to open offices in Fuzhou and Xiamen.

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