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Taiwan, China see progress from historic talks
2008-04-12
Taiwan's vice president-elect and Chinese President Hu Jintao met Saturday in the highest-level contact ever between the two sides, with direct flights an early topic of discussion. Vincent Siew and Hu mainly talked about economic issues in their 20 minutes together, seen as an indicator of the incoming Taiwan government's ability to bring about better ties with giant China. "The talk was friendly, candid, and harmonious, and there were results," Siew told reporters in a short press conference directly after meeting Hu. He later characterized the Chinese leader as "pragmatic." In a Chinese state media report late Saturday, Hu was quoted saying that he hoped that weekend charter flights between Taiwan and China would be launched "as soon as possible" and that "mainland tourists would soon travel to Taiwan." Symbolic of the continued chilly relations between Taiwan and China, Siew could not fly directly to the mainland, but had to transit in Hong Kong. However Hu signalled that this problem would soon be removed. "Direct flights and normal trade had become an inevitable choice," the Chinese president was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency. Siew's spokesman Wang Yu-chi later said the results were in terms of establishing a meaningful dialogue. "We told them about our hopes, and they reacted to this," he said. The encounter between the two men, on the margins of a regional gathering on the south Chinese island of Hainan, was historic, according to Su Chi, a ranking member of the Taiwan delegation. "(There was) good chemistry, harmonious chemistry," Su said, when asked to describe the atmosphere of the meeting between Hu and a Taiwan delegation led by Siew. The Chinese leader had earlier said he was looking forward to discussing opportunities for economic cooperation. "The current cross-strait economic exchange and cooperation are faced with an important historical moment which requires both sides to work together," Hu said, after shaking hands with each member of the Taiwan delegation. Siew told Hu in return that he was "an old hand" when it comes to economic issues. "I hope we can strengthen economic cooperation," he said. The encounter comes before Siew takes up office in Taiwan. He and now-president-elect Ma Ying-jeou claimed victory in Taiwan's elections last month in part based on their relatively China-friendly stance. Ma, of the Kuomintang Party, takes over after eight years under President Chen Shui-bian from the Democratic Progressive Party, whose pro-independence rhetoric irked Beijing. Ma has pledged to improve mainland relations, increase trade, tourism and transport links, and work on a peace treaty to end hostilities. "We're basically trying to break the ice that is eight years thick. We want to break the ice and usher in a new period in cross-strait relations with economics, trade and investment being the locomotive," Su said. "We're starting off from a very deep-frozen relationship. So it's only wise to be prudent." The encounter between Hu and Siew could herald a new chapter in relations since Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949, according to experts. The United States, which is considered likely to be dragged into any armed conflict in the Taiwan Strait, welcomed the meeting even before it started. "We think that dialogue... is the best way forward," US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told reporters in Washington. Siew is a veteran of the Boao Forum in Hainan, having attended five times in a private capacity as chairman of a non-profit organisation, and has met Hu there in the past. China has become Taiwan's top export market and biggest trading partner, with two-way trade last year reaching a record 102 billion US dollars.
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