Strait Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and his Chinese counterpart Chairman Chen Yunlin of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) will hold their fourth round cross-strait negotiations in Taichung on Dec. 21-24.
Chiang and Chen are expected to ink four agreements on fishing crew cooperation, agricultural quarantine inspection, industrial product standards, inspection and certification, and the avoidance of double taxation.
Chen Wan-teh, director of the Taichung-based society, said Wednesday that the civic groups have formed the One Taiwan One China 1221 Action Alliance, which will make appeals in the interest of the Taiwan people on matters related to the cross-strait negotiations.
The alliance will appeal for the talks between Taiwan and China be conducted on a nation-to-nation basis, for the contents of the agreements to be reviewed by the legislature, and for decisions involving the rights and welfare of the people to be put to referendum, according to Chen.
Chen said that a mass march and rally will be held on the eve of the Chiang-Chen talks, and a series of demonstrations will be staged in front of 13 railroad stations along the west Taiwan North-South Railway.
The timing of the meeting right before Christmas I suspect is not a coincidence as it means much western media will be focused on festivities and holidays rather than cover some downplayed technical meeting in Asia ...
