Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou would consider cultural pact with Beijing

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou would consider cultural agreements with the mainland, an official said yesterday, triggering an angry response from the island's opposition parties.

Lin Join-sane, chairman of the quasi-official Straits Exchange Foundation, became the first Taiwanese official to raise the possibility of a culture deal and said the view reflected that of Ma.

"We won't rule out signing culture agreements with the mainland as long as they are in the interest of our country, supported by the people and supervised by parliament," Lin said in Taipei.

He did not specify the content of any possible cultural agreements. But the island's opposition said they would merely facilitate Beijing's ambition of bringing about unification with the island.

"What's behind this is a mindset bent on unification. First comes the economy, then culture, and in the end politics," Lin Chun-hsien, spokesman for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said.

The Taiwan Solidarity Union, a smaller party even more critical of Beijing, also rejected Lin's remarks.