Chiang-Chen talks meaningful although key pact not yet ready: scholar

Taipei, Oct. 12 (CNA)
The seventh round of high-level talks between Taiwan and China will be significant although a pending investment protection pact will not be signed at that meeting, a Taiwanese academic said Wednesday. The meetings between Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Ping-kun and his counterpart Chen Yunlin, head of the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits, serve as a barometer of cross-strait relations for the international community, said Chang Wu-ueh, director of the Graduate Institute of ChinaStudies of Taipei's Tamkang University. Although only a cross-strait nuclear power safety agreement is expected to be inked at the meeting Oct. 19-21 in Tianjin, there can be discussion and consensus on other collaborative efforts, Chang said. Some of the indicators of the progress of the relations between Taiwan and Chinaare whether peace is maintained across the straits and economic exchanges between the two sides continue, he said. There have been two Chiang-Chen meetings every year since President Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008, he noted, saying this was the best indicator of improved relations between Taiwan andChina. "The talks have been taking place twice a year," he said. "If they were not held this year, there might have been some room for speculation." For this reason, he said, the meeting will proceed despite the fact that the pact to help protect Taiwanese businessmen and their investments in China is not ready for signing. If the agreement does not meet Taiwanese businessmen's expectations or is not handled well, unnecessary trouble could emerge as Taiwan's elections draw near, Chang said. President Ma told over 100 members of a China-based Taiwanese businessmen association on Oct. 10 that the investment pact was under discussion. "The issue, of course, would not be resolved easily and quickly, but we'll do our best," Ma said. The president also stressed that the agreement must be well designed and not necessarily signed early. If it does not protect the rights of Taiwanese businessmen in China, it will not have much meaning, he said. Chang said that while public may be disappointed that the agreement is not ready for signing, the number of cross-strait pacts and the speed at which they are signed will not be the focus of the meeting. There are deeper issues to be discussed and the quality (of the agreements) is more critical, he said. An investment protection pact is not an easy task because of the many aspects it involves and the intricacy of the related issues, he said. In addition, the two countries have completely different political and judicial systems, he noted. The negotiators have to discuss a mechanism to solve disputes and protect the personal safety of investors and whether to seek international arbitration, Chang said. Finally, the agreement must be practical and thorough, he said. Negotiations on the pact have been deadlocked for months over a number of issues, including how disputes should be arbitrated. Taiwan has been pushing for an international arbitration mechanism, while China has opposed the idea. (By Chen Hung-chin and Kendra Lin)