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'Talks with Hu' if Hsieh wins election
Tue, Feb 19, 2008 The Straits Times
TAIPEI - PRESIDENTIAL candidate Frank Hsieh said yesterday he will invite China's President to an offshore Taiwanese island for talks if he is elected on March 22. His move is a break from the policies of his party-mate, President Chen Shui-bian. Speaking to reporters on Kinmen island - which is 2km away from the Chinese mainland city of Xiamen at the closest point - Mr Hsieh said it was time to turn the page on the Chen era and move 'solvable issues' to the top of the Taiwan-China agenda. 'I will invite (President) Hu Jintao to visit Taiwan, Kinmen, if I'm elected,' Mr Hsieh said.

Mr Hsieh is the candidate of the ruling pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party in the poll, which is expected to set the course for Taiwan's troubled ties with China over the next four years.

The presidential race is more about the economy than anything else, according to Taiwan's media.

Both candidates have tried to woo voters with promises to liberalise economic ties with China - which many believe could galvanise the island's sluggish economy.

The opposition Kuomintang's candidate, Mr Ma Ying-jeou, has called for various openings towards Beijing, including the launching of direct air and sea links across the 160km-wide Taiwan Strait and a sharp increase in the number of Chinese tourists permitted to visit Taiwan.

ASSOCIATED PRESS