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Heavy security as
ARATS chief visits
CROSS-STRAIT TALKS: Chiang Pin-kung touted an
investment protection pact that the two sides are expected to sign ¡X but many
expressed doubts
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter
Pro-independence activists hold
signs below the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday protesting against the meeting
between Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and Association for
Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chairman Chen Yunlin, which is slated to be
held today.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Police yesterday stand behind a
barricade in the restricted zone around the Grand Hotel in Taipei where
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chairman Chen Yunlin is
staying during his three-day visit in Taipei.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (³¯¶³ªL) arrived in
Taipei yesterday to begin negotiations on a cross-strait investment protection
agreement, amid protests by pro-independence activists concerned that the pact
could damage Taiwanese sovereignty.
The chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS)
is on a three-day visit to hold talks with his Taiwanese counterpart, Straits
Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (¦¿¤₫©[). The two are expected
to sign the investment protection pact today at the Grand Hotel.
Hundreds of police have been deployed around the Grand Hotel and its vicinity,
and barricades have been put up in front of all entrances to the hotel to keep
out protesters. The control area was expanded to 10km2, with police cars
patrolling roads leading up to the hotel, including Zhongshan N Road, Beian Road
and Xinsheng N Road.
The Grand Hotel also limited its shuttle bus service at the MRT Yuan-shan
Station to hotel guests who have already made reservations, cross-strait
negotiation staff and media personnel covering Chen¡¦s three-day visit. Hotel
staff were sent to screen passengers at the bus stop.
A hotel employee, who wished not to be named, said the hotel had adopted
temporary transportation controls in coordination with the police¡¦s security
measures.
¡§Some protesters had sneaked into the hotel and pretended they were hotel
guests, and so the police asked the hotel to make sure that only hotel guests
and related personnel enter the hotel this time,¡¨ she said.
A small group of independence advocates clashed with police yesterday morning
when they tried to enter the hotel. They were later dispersed by the police.
Chen arrived at the hotel at about 1pm, an hour behind schedule due to a flight
delay. The organizers canceled the welcome ceremony at the hotel, as Chen and
Chiang headed to Taipei Zoo and the Maokong Gondola for an afternoon tour.
Meeting with the press before Chen¡¦s arrival, Chiang said the investment
protection agreement would establish a platform for investors from both sides of
the Taiwan Strait to solve investment disputes in a systematic way and make such
investments more transparent.
The pact will set up a mechanism to solve disputes involving G2G
(government-to-government), P2P (private-to-private) and P2G
(private-to-government), and help protect the rights of Taiwanese businesses in
China.
The government has also promised that the agreement would not pave the way for
the entry of more Chinese investment and capital.
Chen later issued a statement saying that both the investment protection
agreement and the planned customs cooperation agreement were crucial to
follow-up negotiations on the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework
Agreement (ECFA).
At the Chiang-Chen meeting, the two envoys will determine the agenda in the next
round of cross-strait talks. The pair said they would focus on negotiations on
trade in goods and services, as well as setting up a dispute-solving mechanism
under the ECFA.
¡§The two sides are still negotiating issues including trade in services and
trade in goods, and we should complete the negotiations on the trade in service,
which is less complicated than issues involving trade in goods,¡¨ Chiang said.
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