ARATS chief arrives in Taiwan on historic visit
3/11/2008 16:21
The Chinese mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait
(ARATS) chief Chen Yunlin arrived in Taipei today at the start of a five-day
historic visit to Taiwan.
Chen's visit marks the first ever meeting between
leaders of the ARATS and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) in
Taiwan.
Tomorrow morning, Chen is expected to hold talks with SEF chairman
Chiang Pin-kung, the second meeting between them in less than six
months.
They are to discuss cross-strait direct shipping, air transport,
postal services, food safety and tourism, Chen said in a written speech after
landing at the Taoyuan International Airport.
The two organizations would
also host seminars for experts to exchange views on financial cooperation to
withstand the international financial crisis, he said.
Chen said he believed
that to solve differences through consultations, to replace confrontation with
cooperation, to promote interaction between ARATS and SEF and to seek win-win
relations across the strait will gain the support of the majority of the Taiwan
compatriots.
He said both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are facing grim
economic challenges given the financial crisis and slow-down in the growth of
the world economy.
"It is imperative that the two sides join to help each
other to cope," he said.
Chen also extended greetings to Taiwan people and
expressed gratitude to those who made efforts to make the landmark visit
possible.
He said the meeting would mark an important step in the development
of cross-strait relations. "The step is not easy and is a crystallization of the
joint efforts of many compatriots across the strait."
Chen said the
compatriots across the strait are one family and their interests rely on the
peaceful development of cross-strait relations.
The ARATS will continue to
work with the SEF with a positive and pragmatic attitude to seek common ground
and satisfactory results through equal consultation, he said.
This afternoon,
Chen is scheduled to visit the widow of Koo Chen-fu, the former SEF chairman who
passed away in 2005.
The official talks between leaders of the ARATS and SEF
will be held tomorrow morning. The two organizations will sign agreements in the
afternoon and hold press conferences, according to the schedule.
Founded in
1991 and 1990 respectively, the ARATS and SEF are authorized by the mainland and
Taiwan to handle cross-strait civilian exchanges. Negotiations were suspended
for almost 10 years until June, when Chen and Chiang held their first meeting in
Beijing.
Xinhua
|
