Rachel Hou/Shanghai Daily news

James Soong, chairman of the People First Party (PFP), will give a keynote address at the Cross-Strait forum tomorrow, according to Zhang Xianyao, director of the PFP's policy research center.
"By providing a means of communication between the two sides, we hope the forum will remedy deficiencies caused by the lack of direct contact across the Taiwan Strait," said Zhang, adding that no politically sensitive issues will be dealt with at the forum.
Around the theme of "promoting economic and trade cooperation across the Taiwan Strait", the following four topics will be discussed: the impact of the mainland's economic development upon the investment patterns of Taiwanese business people; cross-Strait agricultural cooperation; two-way direct flights across the Taiwan Strait; and the normalization of cross-Strait economic and trade relationships.
Around 30 to 40 Taiwan experts will attend the meeting, including representatives from the PFP think tank, the economic elite, university presidents and scholars from Taiwan's Academia Sinica.