A grand gathering marking the 3rd Cross-Straits Economic, Trade,?and
Cultural Forum took place at the Great Hall of the People in
Beijing today, aiming to further commercial and academic exchanges
between the mainland and Taiwan.
The two-day forum was jointly sponsored by the Research Center
for Relations across the Taiwan Straits under the Taiwan Work
Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and
the National Politics Research Fund of Kuomintang (KMT) of
China.
Jia Qinglin, head of China's top advisory body,
the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)?and Lien Chan, honorary chairman of
KMT, attended the forum.
At the opening ceremony, Jia delivered a four-point proposal on
expanding economic exchange and educational cooperation across the
Taiwan Straits.
The mainland and Taiwan "should shelve their differences and
strive to create a sound environment for economic exchange and
educational cooperation," said Jia, who is also a member of the
Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central
Committee.
Jia called on people from both the mainland and Taiwan to
remember history, join hands to defuse separatist attempts, and
promote the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.
Firstly, he said, the realization of three direct links across
the Straits should be pushed forward in compliance with the wishes
of the people. The most important aspect of this is the
establishment of direct passenger flights and chartered cargo
flights.
Secondly, Jia urged the local authorities in Taiwan to open its
door to mainland tourists, and encouraged them to highly promote
the development of tourism industries.
"One thing that should be emphasized is that tourism is not
'country to country.' It is a kind of domestic communication and
cooperation. We hope the current local authorities can follow the
will of people from across the Straits," he explained.
His third point addressed educational exchange. "Young people
are the future. We should enlarge and deepen the cooperation in
education. We expect to send more students to Taiwan and hope the
local authorities can do more to promote its development."
Jia said the cross-Straits exchange and cooperation should be
elevated in cultural communication, because both the mainland and
Taiwan have histories of rich and diverse traditions.
"More performances and book fairs will be held in the future.
The mainland and Taiwan should join hands with each other, combine
our traditional Chinese culture with modern science and technology
and widely broadcast it in the world," he said.
Statistics show that from 1987 to 2006, the number of
cross-Straits exchanges reached more than 420 million, and in 2006
the total amount of trade rose to over US$10 million as 70,000
companies and enterprises invested in the mainland.
In April 2005 Lien, then the KMT chairman, made a historic visit
to the mainland and met Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central
Committee?in Beijing. It marked the first top-level talks
between the CPC and KMT in 60 years. The two met again in 2006,
during the?first cross-Straits forum held in Beijing.
This is the third time that top-level leaders from mainland and
Taiwan met again.
During this year's forum, about 500 representatives from the
mainland and Taiwan?are present at the two-day meeting, with
more than 300 of them coming from Taiwan, including representatives
of the People First Party (PFP) and the New Party.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Wang Ke, April 28, 2007)
