Chinese mainland negotiator for Taiwan affairs arrives in Taichung

• Source: Xinhua
• [12:35 December 21 2009]
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Backgrounder: Talks between ARATS, SEF

A delegation of the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) arrived in Taichung city on Monday for a new round of talks with its Taiwan counterpart Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).

It will be the fourth meeting held between the two organizations since they resumed negotiations in 2008 after a 10-year suspension.

Founded in 1991 and 1990 respectively, the ARATS and the SEF are authorized by the mainland and Taiwan to handle cross-Strait affairs.

The following are the key talks between the two organizations in the past:

In April 1993, then ARATS President Wang Daohan and SEF Chairman Koo Chen-fu held talks in Singapore, which was the first public meeting of high-level representatives from the two sides since 1949.

The historic "Wang-Koo meeting" set up a cross-Strait negotiation mechanism and marked an important step in the history of cross-Strait relations.

Since then, the ARATS and SEF held more than 20 rounds of talks at different levels including the second meeting between Wang and Koo in Shanghai in 1998.

In 1999, negotiations between the two organizations were suspended, after former Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui put forward the "two states" remarks.

The talks were resumed in 2008, from June 12 to 14 in Beijing, and considered as a beginning for improved cross-Strait relations. The two signed agreements on weekend charter flights and tourism.

The two organizations held a second round of talks from Nov. 3 to 7 in 2008 when ARATS President Chen Yunlin led a delegation to Taipei. They signed four agreements on direct shipping, air transport, postal services and food safety.

The third round talks were held in mainland city of Nanjing, eastern Jiangsu Province, from April 25 to 26 this year. The two sides reached agreements on opening regular flights, boosting cooperation in finance and fighting crime.