Taiwan's top China envoy invites mainland counterpart for visit

AgenceFrancePresse ^ | 4/17/02 | staff

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TAIPEI, April 17 (AFP) - Taiwan's top China envoy, Koo Chen-fu, on Wednesday renewed an invitation to his mainland counterpart to visit the island now that the two were members of the World Trade Organization.

Koo, chairman of the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), also urged Beijing to reopen top-level dialogue with Taiwan "to create new opportunities for positive interaction."

"I would like to re-extend my invitation to Mr. Wang Daohan, chairman of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), for a visit to Taiwan at his earlist convenience so he can get to know the island and its people and exchange views with us on related issues," Koo said.

The invitation was made ahead of the ninth anniversary next week of historic talks, held in Singapore, between Koo and Wang.

Beijing suspended talks between the two envoys to protest a claim to statehood in mid-1999 by then Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui. He described relations between the two as "state-to-state".

China considers Taiwan - which split from the mainland after a civil war ending in 1949 - as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

However, Koo said the WTO had created a brand new environment for interaction between Taiwan and China "and provided a new platform for normalizing bilateral relations."

WTO membership means "both have stepped further into the world community and in track with international economic and trade systems."

Koo called on Beijing to abandon its "historical complex" and adopt peaceful means to resolve cross-strait disputes.

In a landmark visit, Koo went to China in October 1998, where he met with Wang, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and other leaders. But a reciprocal visit by Wang to the island was also suspended following Lee's 1999 remarks.

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