Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou said Wednesday Taipei and Beijing would not strike a peace agreement any time soon because the two sides were concentrating on solving practical problems.

"Over the last six months, we have aimed at issues which are relatively easier ones," Ma told a meeting of foreign journalists in Taipei.

"As to signing a peace agreement, both sides have this issue in mind but this is not an urgent issue for both sides to engage each other as hostilities in the area have been reduced to all time low."

Ma said meetings that the two sides have held since he took office in May have borne fruit.

"They have significantly changed the cross-Strait relationship… and will have far-reaching impacts on the bilateral ties," said Ma, of the China-friendly Kuomintang.

The president said the two sides would continue with the present measures, which see them discussing practical issues and avoiding any talk of the island's sovereignty.

"For the third high-level talks scheduled for next year, obviously the problem of having a memorandum of understanding on financial services would be very high on the agenda," Ma said.

Also on the agenda would be such issues including the avoidance of double taxation, the protection of Taiwanese investments on the mainland, and joint efforts to combat crime, he said.

But the president said there was no timeline for political issues that have divided Taiwan and the mainland since the end of a civil war in 1949.

Cross-Strait tensions have eased significantly since Ma took office pledging to improve trade and tourism links with Beijing following eight years of strained relations under the previous pro-independence government.

earlier related report

Taiwan's air force denies transporting cash for ex-president

Taiwan's air force on Wednesday denied allegations that it assisted former president Chen Shui-bian by smuggling cash, as a money laundering probe into the detained Chen's activities continued.

"The air force abided by the rules strictly to operate the presidential jet and didn't do anything outside the law," it said in a statement.

The comment came after fresh accusations that Chen used the presidential jet to smuggle 5.17 million US dollars in cash to the Pacific Ocean island of Palau during a state visit there in 2006.

Kuomintang lawmaker Chiu Yi, one of the first politicians to allege Chen's role in taking bribes, money laundering and embezzlement, made the claim on Taiwanese television that the money was stashed aboard the jet when it departed for the state trip.

Chen's office has flatly denied the allegations and has threatened to sue political commentator Sisy Chen for making similar claims last week in a column for the Apple Daily newspaper, for what it regards as a smear against the ex-leader.

Palau is one of the 23 countries that formally recognise Taipei over Beijing.

Chen, his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and brother-in-law have all been named as defendants in a money laundering case.

The ex-leader, detained since last month, is also being investigated for allegedly embezzling government funds as well as taking bribes and document forgery.

Chen, the first former Taiwanese leader ever to be arrested, could be held for four months before prosecutors have to press charges on him.

His family has agreed to send back 21 million US dollars found in their Swiss bank accounts in cooperation with the probe, prosecutors said.

Chen, whose pro-independence stance while in office had angered Beijing, has repeatedly accused the island's current China-friendly government of being behind the corruption allegations against him.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war, but Beijing still claims the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Share This Article With Planet Earth