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China-Taiwan parleys after 9 years

BEIJING: The chairmen of the China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) on Thursday held their first talks in nine years.

ARATS chairman Chen Yunlin said: “Since March this year, positive changes have taken place in cross-Strait relations. As wished by people on the two sides, the talks resumed today after nearly 10 years’ suspension.” “We feel the great responsibility of this glorious mission and we must spare no effort in realising the aspirations of people on the two sides,” he said. The ARATS and SEF are authorised NGOs engaged in talks on issues related to exchanges across the Taiwan Strait. The ARATS was established in 1991, aimed at promoting cross-Strait exchanges, developing relations and realising a peaceful reunification of China.

The SEF was established in 1990 and authorised by the Mainland Affairs Council under the “Executive Yuan” of Taiwan to deal with cross-Strait affairs deemed “inconvenient” for the Taiwan authority to handle.

In 1992, the two organisations held negotiations in Hong Kong on how to state “adherence to the one-China policy” and reached the “1992 Consensus”. In 1993, the chairmen of ARATS and SEF held talks in Singapore in the first meeting between high-level leaders since 1949. The meeting established an institutionalised negotiation mechanism and marked an important step forward in the relations. During the meeting, four agreements were signed to promote trade and people-to-people exchanges. More than 20 consultations at different levels were held. In 1998, the two sides met again in Shanghai.

Talks were suspended in 1999 after the then leader of Taiwan, Li Teng-hui, proposed his “special state-to-state” model. — Xinhua

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