17 Joint Recommendations Reached at Cross-Strait Forum

17 Joint Recommendations Reached at Cross-Strait Forum

Sources: All Taipei newspapers

July 30, 2012

The 8^th Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Cultural Forum, organized by the Taipei-based National Policy Foundation (國政研究基金會) and Mainland China’s Research Center on Cross-Strait Relations (海峽兩岸關係研究中心), was concluded yesterday in Harbin. KMT vice chairman John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) read out the 17 Joint Recommendations reached at the forum.

Among the 17 recommendations, the most important ones included the following: Both sides of the Taiwan Strait would continue to push forward cross-Strait consultations and negotiations and make efforts to institutionalize cross-Strait exchanges based on the stance of opposing Taiwan independence and insisting on the “1992 Consensus.” It was also recommended to encourage scholars from both sides to explore views on issues related to peaceful cross-Strait development and confidence-building mechanisms in order to expand the cross-Strait consensus.

The Joint Recommendations also stressed that both sides should push for, step by step, the setting up of comprehensive offices on a reciprocal basis. Furthermore, judging from the fact that cross-Strait relations was not a state-to-state relationship, it was recommended that both sides should make efforts to avoid confrontations and frictions, and instead conduct pragmatic consultations on an equal footing.

With regard to cross-Strait economic and trade interactions, the joint recommendations also supported speeding up progress on the follow-up negotiations under the cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and expediting the conclusion of a cross-Strait investment guarantee agreement.

The forum’s recommendations also referred to several proposals, including the promotion of personnel exchanges and private-sector interactions across the Taiwan Strait, the continuity of cross-Strait cultural exchanges, as well as cross-Strait educational exchanges and cooperation. In addition, both sides agreed to map out a plan for a cross-Strait cultural forum.

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