President Ma Ying-jeou is hoping to meet with representatives of the protesters who have occupied the legislature since March 18, but he’s hoping to do so without any preconditions. That’s the word from Presidential Office Spokeswoman Lee Chia-fei on Wednesday.
“The Presidential Office is hoping that talks between the president and the protesters can be held without any preconditions," said Lee. "The Presidential Office will continue to appeal to the students. The talks would occur in an open, transparent manner with media involvement. This is in line with the students’ demands that a meeting be held in a public platform.”
Meanwhile, a protest leader said that he agreed with the idea of not having any preconditions, but that the two sides must discuss establishing laws governing future cross-strait trade pacts. He also said the president needs to promise not to use disciplinary measures to coerce ruling party lawmakers to tow the party line when it comes to the trade-in-services pact with China.