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China ready to reopen high-level dialogue with Taiwan

TAIPEI: China is ready to reopen high-level talks with Taiwan to ease cross-strait tension but will continue isolating the nationalist island diplomatically, a newspaper report here said on Monday.

China's top political decision makers met on March 27-29, with President Jiang Zemin presiding, to evaluate the country's Taiwan policy and work out new plans, the United Daily News said, quoting informed Beijing sources.

The leaders agreed that military threats and vitriolic attacks against Taiwan were no longer appropriate following the landslide presidential election victory of Lee Teng-hui on March 23, the newspaper said.

They consented to reopen dialogue - suspended by Beijing in June - between China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation if Taipei showed a "friendly response" to Jiang's peace proposal last year, the paper said.

The two semi-official organizations were set up to handle negotiations between the rivals, which have no direct contacts.

China has staged six military exercises near Taiwan since last June to warn Taiwanese from supporting independence following Lee's visit to the United States. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province.

It had accused Lee of trying to seek independence in promoting Taiwan's international profile.-APP