TMCnet News
Lien to boost trade in China meeting(China Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Former Kuomintang (KMT) leader Lien Chan yesterday said he would promote trade with rival China as he arrived in Beijing yesterday to meet with Chinese leaders, amid criticisms in Taiwan that his visit is compromising the island's interests. Lien, who is expected to meet with President Hu Jintao and other mainland leaders, said stronger trade ties with the mainland could act as a bridge to cross-strait peace and prosperity. "I'm looking forward to making a concerted effort to promote trade and economic cooperation for mutual benefit and to promote the happiness of the people on both sides," Lien said at a red-carpet welcome ceremony at the tarmac of Beijing's Capital International Airport. "Today, the compatriots on both sides of the strait must mutually help each other; this is a rare opportunity for the Chinese nation. We must grasp this opportunity and make common efforts," Lien said. Lien will attend an economics and trade forum jointly organized by the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The forum is expected to touch on topics such as direct air links with the mainland. The two sides are also expected to discuss lifting a ban on mainland Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan, banking issues and the possibility of China expanding its system of tax free treatment for Taiwanese agricultural imports. Local media reported it is very likely Lien will meet with Hu for talks Sunday. Lien made history last April when he became the first KMT leader to visit China since Mao Zedong's communists drove Chiang Kai-shek's KMT forces from the mainland in 1949. Lien stepped down as KMT chairman in August. Taiwan has no formal ties with China, which claims the island is a renegade province to be retaken by force if necessary. Beijing in recent years has been courting opposition politicians, such as Lien, to isolate President Chen Shui-bian, who leans towards Taiwan independence. Chen's government and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has criticized contacts by Lien and other opposition leaders with the Beijing government, saying they do nothing to improve frosty relations. Lawmaker Ye Yi-jin, DPP whip, urged Lien not to be manipulated by Beijing's leaders. "Lien Chan should not forget how the KMT was defeated by the CPP in earlier times," she said. "I hope the KMT is especially cautious," she said. Lien was accompanied by a 170-member delegation that included 50 Taiwan business leaders. The island's companies have invested about US$100 billion in the mainland since the early 1990s, despite their lack of official ties. Among the heavyweight businessmen reportedly joining the forum are Terry Gou, head of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, one of the world's largest contract manufacturers for electronics goods; Chang Yung-fa, chairman of the Evergreen Group, Taiwan's leading shipping and aviation company; and Wang Yung-tsai, vice chairman of petrochemical giant Formosa Plastics. Other business figures named by local media include Leslie Koo, head of the Taiwan Cement Corporation and Tsai Ming-chung, a high-ranking figure in Fubon Financial Holdings Company. There are also reports that Jeffrey Koo, chairman of the Chinatrust Financial Holding, Deputy Chairman of Cosmos Bank Hsu Hsien-jung and Uni-President Group Chairman Kao Chin-yen will attend. Yeh and the DPP's legislative council condemned Beijing, saying it had used its clout to pressure China-based Taiwan business executives to attend the forum. "China is creating the erroneous impression that Taiwanese business people support Lien," Yeh said. Chang Jung-kung, head of the KMT's mainland affairs division, has said that Chinese authorities may unveil plans to lift the ban on mainland tourists visiting Taiwan during or shortly after the forum. Sources said the deputy director of Beijing's policy making Taiwan Affairs Office Li Bingcai will announce "joint LMT-CCP proposals" after the forum, which will include economic measures to benefit Taiwan. Speaking at Taiwan's international airport before his departure, Lien said the president's policy towards China was hostile and had damaged Taiwan's economy. "The world ranking of Taiwan's economy used to be the 12th; now it had dropped to 15 or 16th," he said. "The purpose of the forum is to revitalize Taiwan's economy." |