Mainland to resume co-op in fishers' services with Taiwan
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-02-09 08:57

Chinese mainland has decided to resume the export of fishery labor services to Taiwan in the upcoming fishing season after four-year-long suspension, announced by an official with the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing on Wednesday.

Tang Wei, director of the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Department under the Ministry of Commerce said at a regular press conference that mainland and Taiwan had reached consensus in principle on the fundamental requirements and details of the fishery labor cooperation.

"The fishery labor cooperation is one of the important components of the cross-Straits trade cooperation. However, the legitimate interests of mainland fishermen could not be effectively protected during the past long time and thus conflicts frequently occurred, due to the absence of a functional cross-Straits fishermen cooperation and coordination mechanism," said Tang.

Therefore, mainland suspended the export of fishery labor services to Taiwan in 2001, he said.

Since the suspension, many Taiwan organizations have contacted the mainland counterparts, hoping that the mainland would resume the cooperation, said Diao Chunhe, director of Fishery Labor Cooperation Coordination Committee for the Two Sides of the Straits at the press conference.

Considering the demand of Taiwan's fishery industry development, mainland has been actively creating opportunities for restoring fishermen export to Taiwan and pushed forward the negotiations between the non-governmental fishery associations across the Straits, said Tang.

Currently, the fishery associations across the Straits have established a cooperation and coordination mechanism, which has been approved by the departments concerned of the mainland in principle.

"We do hope the departments concerned across the Straits endorse a cooperation agreement as soon as possible and the Taiwan authorities to give positive response to the resumption of the fishery labor cooperation and protect the legitimate rights of mainland's fishermen," said Tang.