Director Chen Yunlin of China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) planned to lead a 61-member delegation of TAO officials and others to Taiwan to attend the "Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Cultural Forum" at the invitation of the National Policy Foundation. However, after a "Joint Review Meeting on Visits to Taiwan by Mainland Professionals" convened this afternoon (November 18, 2005), the Immigration Office of the National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior decided to deny permission for the proposed visit.
Due to the current unique cross-strait interactions and relations, the delegation's application to visit Taiwan is of high political significance. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has twice authorized the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) to issue a letter to the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), requesting China to first dispatch personnel to Taiwan for negotiations. However, up to the holding of the Joint Review Meeting today, China has not made any positive reply or specific contact in the handling of this case.
At the current stage, such a visit appears to be unnecessary for the reasons that: China has intentionally avoided official negotiation with Taiwan; the visit will not have any positive significance in cross-strait relations; the visit is not conducive to the improvement of cross-strait relations; the application procedures are inconsistent with international practices; and the delegation's itinerary provides no clear indication of its purpose and intention of visiting Taiwan. After discussion by related government agencies at the Joint Review Meeting, it was therefore decided to deny permission for the proposed visit.