Strait neighbours seal new relations package

TOP Beijing and Taipei negotiators this morning are to sign four documents that pave the way for greater contacts across the strait.

The signing was agreed only after contentious issues were set aside, avoiding a last-minute breakdown of the historic summit talks.

The ceremony, originally planned for yesterday afternoon, was rescheduled after the two leaders, Mr Wang Daohan and Mr Koo Chen-fu met behind closed doors for 40 minutes.

Mr Koo, the chairman of Taipei's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), made the announcement and Mr Wang, head of the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), added that differences remained unresolved.

He said these could be discussed in the spirit of ''seeking consensus while accommodating differences'' in future talks.

The unexpected twist unfolded in the morning when members of the negotiating teams failed to reach agreement on the protection of Taiwanese investment on the mainland.

Nor could they decide on the contents and name of the joint statement to be issued at the end of the summit.

At one stage, Taiwan threatened not to sign a document summarising achievements of the meeting.

The two sides now agreed to disagree by leaving most of the economic parts out of the summary, which will be called ''Wang-Koo Meeting Joint Accord''. The meeting has been dubbed the ''Koo-Wang Summit'', putting the Taiwanese negotiator's name first.

Other documents to be signed are on verification, ways of tracing lost mail and a system of communication between the two semi-official organisations.

The meeting was almost bogged down after Mr Wang raised the issue of direct transport and communication links on the first day.

Negotiators also failed to agree on the protection of Taiwan investment on the mainland and holding of a joint economic conference later this year.

Taiwan wants China either to sign an investment guarantee pact with the island or revise a 22-point guideline issued by China's State Council to govern Taiwanese activities on the mainland.

Beijing, however, insisted Taiwan should relax restrictions on Taiwanese businessmen investing in China, allow mainland businessmen to visit the island, open its labour market to mainland workers and boost imports from China.

A vice-chairman of the ARATS, Mr Zou Zhekai said the controversy resulted from Taiwan's mainland policy on economic contacts which ''conflicted and neglected the reality of the development of cross-strait relations''.

Mr Zou said Taipei's policy created obstacles for normal economic exchanges and dampened enthusiasm of Taiwan businessmen to invest in the mainland.

The ''meeting summary'' will only touch on broad subjects such as cultural and science exchanges, joint development of resources, visits by mainland businessmen to Taiwan and more future dialogue on economic issues between the two sides.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Mr Cheyne Chiu, secretary general of SEF, made clear that there was ''considerable distance'' between the two sides in some key areas.

Mr Chiu said while the SEF insisted that Taiwanese businessmen must be given greater legal protection, the ARATS claimed existing protection was adequate.

He also criticised Mr Tang for undermining the role of SEF.

Hours before Mr Chiu's press conference, Mr Tang said the issue of protection of Taiwan investment was ''none of SEF's business'' because the SEF had never encouraged Taiwan businessmen to invest in the mainland.

''I am afraid that Mr Tang might have overstated that when he made that remark,'' said Mr Chiu.

As an example of their differences, Mr Chiu disclosed that the SEF had stressed that Beijing should allow Taiwan investors to choose any third countries to handle the arbitration of economic disputes with the mainland.

Under existing Chinese administrative codes, Taiwanese businessmen could only choose China or Hongkong as the place to arbitrate trade disputes.

''But under all investment protection pacts they (China) signed with any other states, the investors concerned are allowed to choose a third country to settle the dispute,'' said Mr Chiu.

''Isn't that unfair that Taiwanese businessmen have not been accorded such choices?'' But Mr Tang stood firm, saying the SEF's demands were rejected because the majority of the Taiwan investment in China was indirect investment through third countries.