Siew Trip Ushers in New Era in China-Taiwan Relations
aiwan's vice president-elect left Friday for a trip to China that will be a key gauge of ties between the rivals under the incoming Taiwanese government and may include a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintau.
Vincent Siew's trip to an economic forum on the southern Chinese island of Hainan is seen as a test of how Taiwan and China will relate to each other after the era of Taiwan's outgoing President Chen Shui-bian, who was reviled by Beijing.
''We will use the occasion to make more friends and exchange views,'' Siew said at the Taipei airport before boarding his plane. ''We will present the new blueprint for Taiwan's economic development.''
Earlier this week Taiwanese media reported that Siew would meet with Hu at the forum, an annual event attended by a number of world leaders. Siew said such a meeting would depend on arrangements by the forum's hosts.
Chen will leave office May 20 after eight years at the helm. President-elect Ma Ying-jeou _ Siew's future boss _ is committed to improving relations with China, especially on the economic front.
He has promised to launch direct air and maritime links between Taiwan and China, and to liberalize regulations for investment between the two sides.
However, he has been coy about the prospects for better political relations, insisting he will not discuss unification during his presidency while holding out hopes for an as-yet undefined peace agreement.
China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. Beijing still views the island as part of its territory and has threatened to attack if the Taiwanese make the break official and permanent.
Beijing often slammed Chen for his pro-independence views. He resisted taking full advantage of China's massive economic boom during his eight years in office, fearing that broader engagement could limit the island's room to maneuver in any future political confrontation.
Taiwan had no high-level contacts with China, political or otherwise, during Chen's presidency.
04/11/2008 03:14 AM
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP)
Taiwan Vice President-elect Vincent Siew,left, waves on arrival with his wife Zhu Su-Shen, center,at the Meilan Airport in Haikou in southern China's Hainan province, Friday, April 11, 2008. Siew will attend an economic forum on the island province in what is being viewed as an important test of Taiwan-China relations under a new Taiwanese administration.
(AP Photo/Frederic J. Brown, Pool)
aiwan's vice president-elect left Friday for a trip to China that will be a key gauge of ties between the rivals under the incoming Taiwanese government and may include a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintau.
