Taiwan's new vice-premier puts faith in negotiations

Taiwan's newly appointed vice-premier says he hopes for breakthroughs with the mainland in the form of high-level visits and exchanges.

Eric Chu Li-luan, who is also a vice-president of the ruling Kuomintang, yesterday called for a 'pragmatic relationship' that would set aside confrontations.

Widely tipped as a leading contender to succeed President Ma Ying-jeou, Chu was appointed on Monday in a cabinet reshuffle following criticism of the government's poor handling of the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot, which struck the island on August 8. Chu, a former Taoyuan county commissioner, will assume his new post today.

As a result of Ma's greater friendliness towards Beijing, cross-strait ties have improved since May last year, while trade and economic co-operation have expanded. But Ma's approval of a visit last week by the Dalai Lama to reassure typhoon victims has slowed momentum. Beijing brands the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader a separatist.

Chu, 48, who made his remark about hoping for breakthroughs in an interview with the China Review News, said 'all of these would need negotiations between the two sides'.

Since the KMT, led by Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan from the mainland in 1949, high-level contacts have been rare. Meetings between the two sides' political leaders have happened only in recent years, and on most occasions they met as party chiefs rather than heads of state.

Vincent Siew Wan-chang became the highest-ranking official to have visited the mainland when he attended the Boao Forum last year as the vice-president-elect and talked to President Hu Jintao .