The meeting between the New Party's Mainland Affairs Committee and the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee is the first between the two parties since 1949.

Sources with the Taiwan Work Office said the move was a major step towards the potential establishment of a long-term mechanism for party-to-party dialogue about cross-Straits relations.

Officials with the Taiwan Work Office will hold talks with the nine-member team, led by Hsu Li-nung, chairman of the party's mainland affairs committee, during their four-day trip to Beijing, the sources said.

Vice-Premier Qian Qichen is scheduled to meet the delegation in his capacity as a political bureau member of the CPC Central Committee.

The sources revealed that the two sides plan to discuss a wide range of subjects including the reunification of the motherland and the acceptance of the one-China principle as well as strengthening cross-Straits economic and trade exchanges to serve the interests of Taiwan's population.

The pro-reunification New Party delegation arrived in Beijing Tuesday evening via Hong Kong. Taipei bans direct air links across the Taiwan Straits.

Other members in the team include party Secretary General Li Ping-nan, delegation spokesman Yu Mu-ming and Taipei City Council Deputy Speaker Fei Hung-tai.

The visit, at the invitation of the Taiwan Work Office, comes after Beijing refused to enter talks with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which enshrines Taiwan independence in its party platform and has refused to accept the one-China principle.

Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian from the DPP has failed to break the stalemate in cross-Straits relations due to his lack of sincerity in improving bilateral ties.

Taiwan has suffered political turmoil and an economic downturn since Chen took power on May 20 last year.

To help ease cross-Straits tensions and boost co-operation, Taiwan's main opposition parties -- the Kuomintang Party, People First Party and New Party -- each sent separate delegations to launch two rounds of talks with mainland negotiators over the past year.

The first round of talks focused on the one-China principle, which holds that there is only one China in the world; Both the mainland and Taiwan are part of China and Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity can tolerate no division.

The second round of talks concentrated on the establishment of three direct links -- trade, transport and postal services across the Taiwan Straits.

(China Daily 07/11/2001)