Too early to start political talks with China: Taiwan

2009/11/20

TAIPEI: Taiwan believes it is still too early to start political talks with China, hoping to focus on economic exchanges for the time being, the island’s top China policy maker was quoted as saying today. Lai Shin-yaun, head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, told the Taipei-based China Times that political or military issues were not her government’s priorities in its dealings with Beijing.

“After economic and cultural exchanges have had a certain impact, the public will have more faith in the current ’economy first, politics later’ negotiating system,” she said.

Taiwan and China have been ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing still considers the island part of its territory and has vowed to get it back, by force if necessary.

However, ties have improved markedly since last year when the China-friendly politician Ma Ying-jeou became president of Taiwan.

Talks on economic issues have yielded three documents on financial cooperation, signed this week, and could also result in a broader pact on trade and investment in 2010.

Political talks are likely to be tougher, as they will have a bearing on issues such as the island’s right to govern itself, but observers said they could eventually lead to a peace treaty to formally end the 1940s civil war.

Taiwan’s decision to prioritise economic talks could be at odds with China’s agenda, with Premier Wen Jiabao saying as late as March that Beijing was ready for negotiations on political and military issues with the island.

However, Taiwan’s government is constrained in how far it can go, as the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party has warned that the rapidly improving ties with China could compromise the island’s sovereignty.

Cross-strait relations hit rock bottom under the Democratic Progressive Party’s eight-year rule which ended in 2008 as the party pushed for Taiwan’s independence from the mainland. - AFP