Taiwan Today

Protests are expected during the upcoming talks in Taichung between Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation and mainland China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, warned SEF Chairman Chiang Ping-kun Dec. 13. “Protestors will be permitted to demonstrate during the fourth round of cross-strait talks as Taiwan is a free and democratic society,” Chiang said during a TV interview with local broadcaster Sanlih E-Television. The SEF chairman said he has notified his ARATS counterpart, Chen Yunlin, that protests during the Dec. 22 to 24 talks are unavoidable. “The core value of Taiwan is its democracy and this helps us to live together peacefully and respect and recognize different opinions,” Chang said. “The freedom to express different views must be protected.” On the subject of whether ROC flags would be taken down during the cross-strait talks, Chiang quoted President Ma Ying-jeou in confirming that ROC flags would remain on display. “There is no need to discuss this matter with Beijing in advance.” Asked whether he would stay on as Taiwan’s top negotiator for the fifth round of cross-strait negotiations, Chiang responded that in future, the Chiang-Chen talks should be known as the SEF-ARATS talks. “The current name employed by both sides is temporary,” he said, adding that Taipei and Beijing should put the SEF-ARATS talks back on a normalization track. To help keep the public on both sides of the strait informed of developments during the Taichung talks, the SEF head gave a televised interview to a news program broadcast in Shanghai. This initiative was jointly organized by Taipei-based CtiTV and Shanghai-based Dragon TV. (CYH-JSM)