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Mainland official in Taiwan for possible cross-strait talks
1999-01-08
TAIPEI -- A senior Beijing official arrived in southern Taiwan on Friday for a 10-day visit and said she has not received a request from Taiwan to discuss a visit to the island by Beijing's top envoy on Taiwan affairs Wang Daohan, Kyodo News reported. Yang Xiaoming, a deputy secretary general for Beijing's quasi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), made the remarks upon arrival at Kaohsiung's airport. Speaking in an interview on local television, Yang said she will meet with representatives of Taiwan's Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) in Taipei on Friday next week, but that there is no agenda for the meeting. SEF Secretary General Shi Hwei-yow said earlier this week that Taiwan hopes to discuss with Yang the planned trip to Taiwan by Wang, head of ARATS, should she have such a mandate. Due to Shi's remarks, Yang's visit is drawing considerable media attention in Taiwan. Yang said the main purpose of her trip is to attend a two-day environmental symposium at National Sun Yat-sen University in the southern port city of Kaohsiung over the weekend. She is visiting with a 16-member delegation headed by Guangdong Deputy Governor Lu Zhonghe. Wang accepted an invitation to visit the island during a landmark trip to the Mainland by Koo Chen-fu, head of the SEF, last October, but no date for Wang's visit has been set. Beijing last month said Wang will not visit as long as Taiwan does not agree to political talks on unification. Taiwan has rejected the demand arguing that Wang would be reciprocating Koo's visit and no conditions must be attached.
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