Taipei, May 6 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian reaffirmed Thursday his commitment to establishing peaceful and stable cross-Taiwan Strait relations.
The president made the remarks during his first meeting with members of a team set up to establish a cross-strait interchange framework that included two co-conveners of the team -- Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh and Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Koo Chen-fu --to exchange views on domestic affairs and cross-strait relations.
He said that if the team works well it will be transformed into a cross-strait peaceful development committee over which he might preside if every thing goes smoothly and that he is also willing to invite five members from the private sector in the team to be committee members.
Chen said that the committee should address the issues of galvanizing a national consensus while mapping out cross-strait peaceful development guidelines and conducting follow-up discussions on the guidelines for government reference in its mainland China policies.
Chen stressed that he and Vice President Annette Lu, who was also present at the meeting, were given a mandate by the people once more in the March 20 presidential election and that "we must deliver our promises made before the election to gradually promote peaceful and stable cross-strait relations."
Also attending Thursday's meeting were Morris Chang, chairman of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Wu Feng-shan, chairman of Public Television Service, Chen Poh-chih, chairman of the Taiwan Thinktank, Presidential Office Secretary General Chiou I-jen, National Security Council Secretary-General Kang Ning-hsiang and Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen.