China official talks ties on historic Taiwan trip
TAIPEI (Reuters) - A top Chinese negotiator began China's first high-level visit to political rival Taiwan in 60 years on Monday as the two sides reached a loose consensus on daily direct flights, new cargo routes and food safety checks.
Chen Yunlin became the highest-level Chinese official to set foot on the island since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. He will be in Taipei until Friday.
"Taiwan people are watching, audiences in mainland China are watching and the whole world is watching because this is a moment in history," Taiwan negotiator P.K. Chiang said at a hotel welcoming ceremony.
Working groups from China and Taiwan tentatively agreed on Monday to sign agreements on Tuesday that would allow 108 direct flights per week operating daily instead of just four days per week currently, and add connections with 16 new Chinese airports for a total of 21, Taiwan officials said.
Before the first direct flights were allowed in July, the two sides banned them for security reasons, forcing costly stopovers in Hong Kong or Macau.
The working groups also signaled approval for private direct business flights and for eliminating detours through Kong Hong air space, also for security purposes.
On the cargo side, the groups gave a nod to signing a deal for 60 cargo flights per week, satisfying a request from Taiwan, in cases where companies keep factories in China.
Direct sea cargo would open to 11 Taiwan ports and 63 Chinese destinations, ending a ban due to sovereignty concerns.
Also on the table for Tuesday are new postal links between eight China districts and five in Taiwan, and a process for quick notification and investigation of any contaminated food following Taiwan's concern over tainted dairy products from China.
Relations have thawed with a series of trade and transit deals, including a tourism breakthrough, since China-friendly Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May.
"The hard ice between the two sides has already been shattered, the road has already been opened," said Wang Yi, head of the Chinese government's Taiwan Affairs Office, at Chen's official send-off in Beijing.
Chen's visit is a further landmark, although he said last week that talks would avoid sensitive political issues to focus on economic cooperation.
Relations can still be testy. In October, demonstrators in the southern Taiwan city of Tainan pushed a visiting Chinese official to the ground, outraging Beijing.
Communist China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's forces won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's KMT fled to Taiwan. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.
TEST FOR TAIWAN PRESIDENT
China, which wants Ma re-elected in 2012 over any anti-China candidates, will give Taiwan what it wants this time on all agenda items and may add something more, said Kou Chien-wen, associate political science professor at National Chengchi University in Taipei.
"There won't be any upsets this week, but whether there are any positive surprises, we don't know," he said.
Ma's opinion poll ratings will surge if he looks tough this week, said Raymond Wu, a political risk consultant in Taipei.
Taiwan's main opposition party, concerned that Taiwan is getting too close to China, kicked off a three-day protest sit-in outside the parliament building in Taipei, drawing about 3,000 people in the first hour to wave banners condemning China.
"China is pointing missiles at Taiwan," said 49-year-old demonstrator Henry Chen. "Taiwan says it wants to sign agreements with them, but it's not equal."
The opposition, in power from 2000 to 2008, advocated independence from China and did not negotiate with Beijing.
(Additional reporting by Vivi Lin in Beijing; Editing by Paul Tait)
