The Chinese mainland is ready to talk about everything, even the "missile issue," with Taiwan, but only under the one-China principle, Wang Zaixi, deputy director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said at a news conference in Beijing Tuesday.

The possibility to talk about the issue has been underscored by the press communique issued last week by the CPC and the Kuomintang (KMT) Party during KMT Chairman Lien Chan's visit to the mainland.

Under the one-China principle, the two sides can take the priority to discuss on the ending of hostility across the Taiwan Straits, the press communique says.

On the issues of military mutual trust across the Straits and Taiwan's purchase of foreign weapons, Wang said that the mainland has been persistent in its stance since the 1980s that the Taiwan issue should be resolved peacefully through consultation under the one-China principle.

Thus the mainland is "not in favor of the massive-scale purchase of advanced weaponry by Taiwan, because it is detrimental to the peaceful reunification and economic development of Taiwan," he said.

The mainland has noticed that Taiwan's motion in 2004 to purchase more than 600 billion NT dollars of weapons from the United States has been opposed to by the majority of Taiwan compatriots, Wang said.

Direct cross-Straits travel would be easy within one-China framework

Managing direct air and shipping links across the Taiwan Straits would not be difficult "if the issue were viewed as an internal affair," Wang Zaixi said at the press conference

He said the mainland wants to establish the direct exchange of cargo across the Taiwan Straits first and extend the practice to passenger exchanges later.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, put forward the notion of "Three Links" in 1979, referring to direct exchanges of mail, trade, air and shipping across the Taiwan Straits.

Direct, non-stop charter flights across the Taiwan Straits were launched in January during the Chinese lunar new year, the first in 56 years in a move widely hailed by people across the Straits.

"We are endeavoring to regularize charter flights during the holiday seasons or on a permanent basis," said Wang.? He said the move was part of Beijing's efforts to realize the larger goal of "Three Links" as soon as possible.

Smooth journey for pandas to settle in Taiwan urged

At the news conference, Wang called for Taiwan authorities' cooperation in facilitating a pair of giant pandas to settle in Taiwan.

Wang called the plan "a gesture of goodwill and affinity" made by the mainland at the end of the eight-day mainland tour of the KMT Chairman Lien Chan. The plan was "wrongly interpreted" by the Taiwan authorities as having a political connotation, which was "absolutely not the case," he said.

"We hope the Taiwan authorities take the Taiwan people's anticipation of the cuddly pandas into full consideration, take a cooperative attitude in this regard and not disrupt the scheme," said Wang.

"While Taiwan compatriots have longed for an opportunity to see the beloved animal in person for a long time, the mainland has been planning to present giant pandas as gifts to the Taiwan people for years," Wang said.

"Now is the right time to give the pandas," said Wang.

Commenting on the proposal made by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, a KMT vice chairman, concerning presenting macaques in return to the mainland, Wang said "the mainland compatriots will be very pleased and welcome the primates."??

(Xinhua News Agency May 4, 2005)