Mainland hopes to attend cross-Strait agricultural forum
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-08-29 10:11
BEIJING -- The Chinese mainland is hoping the Taiwan authorities will allow a
delegation of officials to the upcoming cross-Strait forum on agricultural
cooperation, a mainland spokesman said here Monday.
The forum was an important channel between the Communist Party of China (CPC)
and the Kuomintang Party and was different from exchanges and visits between
high-level officials of the two sides, said a spokesman of the Association for
Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.
The mainland wanted to send a delegation led by Chen Yunlin, director of the
Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, but the application was
rejected by the Taiwan authorities last year because of the suspension of
negotiations between the two sides, the spokesman said.
However, Chen's delegation would not be involved in issues other than
agricultural cooperation, and would have nothing to do with the resumption of
cross-Strait negotiations or other talks between the two sides.
The mainland hoped the Taiwan authorities would permit Chen's delegation to
attend the forum, said the spokesman, adding that details of the visit would be
discussed with appropriate officials once it was scheduled.
Chen Yunlin was invited to the forum twice last November by Taiwan's
Foundation for Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, but was rejected by the
Taiwan authorities the same month, so the mainland association regarded it as
meaningless to respond to invitations at that time, the spokesman said.
The mainland had been trying every possible means to promote exchanges and
economic cooperation since the cross-Strait negotiations were suspended in 2000,
the spokesman noted.
As a part of the inter-party exchanges, the forum was scheduled by the CPC
and Kuomintang last year to be held in Taipei in October this
year.
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