A delegation headed by the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kun left Taipei for Beijing on Wednesday morning to attend talks with the Chinese mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), Taiwan's media reported.

It will be the first talks between the SEF and ARATS after they resumed their talks after a suspension of nine years.

The delegation departed the Taoyuan airport at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

On May 29, the ARATS sent a letter to the SEF inviting SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kun and Vice Chairman and Secretary-General Kao Koong-lian to lead an SEF delegation to visit Beijing from June 11 to 14 for talks on cross-Strait weekend chartered flights and mainland tourists' traveling to Taiwan.

Later on May 29, the SEF accepted the invitation for talks and Chiang said he "expected that chairmen of the two sides could sign agreement on related issues on June 13".

(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2008)