CHINA: China-Taiwan trade dialogue opens in Beijing amid Olympic torch row

China's President Hu Jintao meets Taiwan opposition leader Lien Chan at a trade forum in Beijing amid a cross-strait row over the Olympic torch route. Taiwan's opposition leader Lien Chan met with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Saturday (April 28), two days after the democratic island Beijing claims as its own refused to host a stop on next year's Olympic torch relay. President Hu took the opportunity to say both sides should work together, and repeated China's steadfast opposition to Taiwan independence. "Taiwan compatriots, let us walk more closely hand in hand to promote personnel exchanges across the Taiwan strait, speed up economic and cultural cooperation, curb Taiwan secessionist activities, and maintain peace across the Taiwan strait," Hu told the opening of the Cross-Strait Economic and Trade Forum in Beijing. About 500 businessmen and officials from China's ruling Communist Party and the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT), are attending the two-day forum. It is the third summit since 2005, when China rolled out the red carpet for Taiwan opposition politicians as part of a divide-and-rule campaign to isolate the island's pro-independence ruling party. Lien called for talks, not confrontation. "We attach great importance to the functions of consultation, letting consultation be a bridge, and using consultation to replace confrontation," said Lien, honorary chairman of Taiwan's main opposition Nationalist Party. Lien lost Taiwan's 2000 presidential elections ending five decades of KMT rule. He lost again in 2004 after a controversial election eve assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian. "The mainland is today open to the entire world, but cross-strait relations, for reasons which everyone are familiar with, hesitate to move forward. We are now emphasising how to obtain a fast-tracking of relations between the two sides of the Taiwan strait, and extensively conduct this tracking," said Lien. Neither mentioned the Olympic torch debacle. China has accused Taiwan of betraying its trust and reneging on an initial agreement to let the Olympic torch in. Taiwan has been designated as the stop before Hong Kong, ignoring the self-ruled island's demand that the 137,000-km (85,000-mile) route not enter or exit via mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau. The KMT hopes trade and tourism deals clinched at the Beijing forum will help the island's economy and its chances of winning parliamentary elections in December and presidential elections next March. Both the Communist Party and the KMT were vague about expectations for the forum. Without the blessings of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, any deal is unlikely to have a direct effect on frozen government contacts between China and Taiwan. Taiwan is growing more dependent on China economically despite the stalled political ties. Discussion of perennial issues such as lobbying Taiwan to lift a decades-old ban on direct flights is also likely.

ITN Source | April 28, 2007

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