Taiwan and the mainland yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of the resumption of talks through their respective semi-official agencies, with both sides realising they will have to swap representative offices if they are to continue to develop ties.
Analysts say, however, that given the sensitivities surrounding cross-strait relations, both Taipei and Beijing will be likely to factor in political calculations in handling the issue.
The establishment of representative offices by Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (Arats) on either side of the strait has been much-discussed since the two front bodies represented their respective governments in the reopening of talks in Beijing on June 12, 2008.
On Monday, Wang Yi , director of the mainland's State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, told a visiting delegation from Taiwan in Beijing that with the rapid development of cross-strait exchanges it was time for the two agencies to talk about setting up representative offices on each other's territory.
He said that while Beijing was in no rush to force the issue, Taipei had been positive about the possibility of swapping such offices.
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said last month that the relevant authorities in Taiwan could start to study the possibility of revising the island's Cross-strait People's Relations Act to allow the formation of representative offices.