China, Taiwan agree to exchanges during historic talks
BEIJING (AFP) — China and Taiwan agreed on Thursday to set up their first ever offices on each others' territories, as they began historic talks aimed at consolidating a dramatic rapprochement and building trade ties.
Both sides said the restart of the dialogue, which China suspended a decade ago as relations between the long-time rivals plummeted, would be able to serve as a platform for further improving ties.
"As long as we have mutual trust and understanding... these talks are going to become an important communication mechanism for cross-strait development," chief Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin said.
The talks got off to a positive start, with the two semi-official bodies involved in the negotiations agreeing to establish bureaus on each others' territories and Chen accepting an invitation to visit Taiwan this year.
The semi-official bodies represent China and Taiwan in direct talks as the two sides, which split at the end of a civil war in 1949, have no formal diplomatic relations.
The offices will be initially tasked with mainly visa procedures for an expected increase in cross-strait travel, according to press reports in China and Taiwan.
But the Taiwanese body involved in the talks, the Straits Exchange Foundation, expressed optimism that the organisations would facilitate more than just visa applications.
"The two associations should push forward for the full normalisation of trade and culture exchanges," the foundation said in a statement.
No date was announced for when the offices would be set up.
According to Taiwan's United Evening News, the two sides also agreed Thursday to the establishment of direct flights between the two sides that will open the way for mainland tourists to visit the island.
Some 600 mainland tourists as well as Chinese officials would be among the first passengers on the direct flights, earlier reports said.
Six airlines from each side were authorised to operate the routes while the number of flights was expected to increase to 72 after the Beijing Olympics in August, the report from Taiwan said.
Except for national holidays, people wanting to travel the less than 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the mainland currently have to make a much longer journey with a stopover in Hong Kong.
As many as 3,000 Chinese tourists a day would be also allowed to fly to Taiwan, under plans first published in the Taiwanese press and carried in China's state-run media on Thursday.
Taiwan has previously said it would like the first of these visitors to arrive on the island on July 4.
The talks resumed as part of a dramatic warming in relations that began with the election of Ma Ying-jeou as Taiwan's president in March.
Ma and his Kuomintang party swept to power promising closer ties with China, following eight years of tensions across the straits as his predecessor Chen Shui-bian tried to steer the island closer toward independence.
China's ruling Communist Party ratcheted up threats during Chen's reign, saying it was prepared to use military force to bring about reunification.
But Ma, who began his term in May, has managed to begin letting some steam out of the pressure-cooker environment that made the China-Taiwan relationship one of the world's potential military flashpoints.
Agreement to restart the talks was reached when Chinese President Hu Jintao met Kuomintang chief Wu Poh-hsiung in Beijing last month.
That in itself was an historic event, as it was the first meeting between the heads of the ruling parties of the two sides since Kuomintang forces retreated to the island in 1949 and the communists took power in Beijing.
In Thursday's talks, chief Taiwan envoy Chiang Pin-kun also raised the possibility of direct sea transport and co-operation on exploring oil and gas reserves, according to a statement released by the Taiwanese side. Chiang is expected to meet Hu on Friday.
