Taiwan rules out signing peace accord with China any time soon
Agence France-Presse | 12/03/2008 9:09 PM
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TAIPEI - Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou said Wednesday Taipei and Beijing would not strike a peace agreement any time soon because the two sides were concentrating on solving practical problems.
"Over the last six months, we have aimed at issues which are relatively easier ones," Ma told a meeting of foreign journalists in Taipei.
"As to signing a peace agreement, both sides have this issue in mind but this is not an urgent issue for both sides to engage each other as hostilities in the area have been reduced to all time low."
Ma said meetings that the two sides have held since he took office in May have borne fruit.
"They have significantly changed the cross-Strait relationship... and will have far-reaching impacts on the bilateral ties," said Ma, of the China-friendly Kuomintang.
The president said the two sides would continue with the present measures, which see them discussing practical issues and avoiding any talk of the island's sovereignty.
"For the third high-level talks scheduled for next year, obviously the problem of having a memorandum of understanding on financial services would be very high on the agenda," Ma said.
Also on the agenda would be such issues including the avoidance of double taxation, the protection of Taiwanese investments on the mainland, and joint efforts to combat crime, he said.
But the president said there was no timeline for political issues that have divided Taiwan and the mainland since the end of a civil war in 1949.
Cross-Strait tensions have eased significantly since Ma took office pledging to improve trade and tourism links with Beijing following eight years of strained relations under the previous pro-independence government.
