Economics minister Woody Duh says that talks on a trade in goods pact with Mainland China may begin later than expected.
During an interview with Radio Taiwan International on Friday, Duh said that talks might begin in September rather than the end of August as planned. He said the reason for the delay is that Mainland authorities do not have enough time to process the documents that would allow Chinese negotiators to come to Taiwan. He said that China has strict regulations about granting permission for its officials to travel to Taiwan.
"The original plan was to hold talks at the end of this month. The negotiations were to be held in Taipei. But the Mainland side said they don’t have enough time to process the documents needed to allow their negotiators to come to Taiwan," said Duh.
"We had hoped to go to the Mainland to negotiate instead or to postpone the negotiations. We are still working out whether we will go to the Mainland to negotiate or push the talks back. At the moment, it looks like the talks might be postponed to September, and they will come to Taiwan to continue follow-up talks on trade in goods," he said.
Duh also denied that the recent, sudden departure of Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Chang Hsien-yao is the reason for the delay of the talks.