Mainland, Taiwan in communication on cross-Straits chiefs' meeting

BEIJING - Chinese mainland and Taiwan are in communication on arrangements for a meeting between the two cross-Straits affairs chiefs, a mainland spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Fan Liqing, spokeswoman with the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office (SCTAO), made the remarks at a regular press conference.

SCTAO head Zhang Zhijun and Wang Yu-chi, mainland affairs chief in Taiwan at the time, were originally scheduled to meet on Feb 7-8 in Kinmen. The meeting was postponed as the two sides focused on the aftermath of a TransAsia Airways plane crash in Taiwan on Feb. 4, where more than 40 people, including both Taiwanese and mainlanders, were killed.

Wang later resigned from his post after his former deputy's alleged involvement in confidential information leaks. The future meeting with Zhang will be conducted by his successor, Andrew Hsia.

At Wednesday's press conference, Fan said the negotiating bodies of the mainland and Taiwan-- the mainland-based Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) in Taiwan-- are also arranging the next round of talks between the two organizations' leaders, which is scheduled to be held on the mainland.

Fan also reiterated Taiwan personnel participation in mourning the passing of former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew needs to be handled in a proper manner with adherence to the one-China principle.

Fan made the remarks in response to inquiries about Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou's activities in Singapore.

Lee always upheld the one-China policy while he was alive and did a lot of work to improve relations across the Taiwan Straits, the spokeswoman said.