Today's talks proposed by Beijing on tariff-free imports for 15 categories of Taiwanese fruits failed to take place because of Taipei's refusal to send envoys to the mainland.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration has rejected Beijing's invitation to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the agency authorized by Taipei to conduct the fruit trade talks.

On Saturday, the Cross-Straits Economic and Trade Exchange Association the private body authorized by Beijing for the fruit talks proposed negotiations be held today in Beijing on the fruit issue. It is the mainland's latest effort to push forward the reduction of tariffs since Beijing offered preferential treatment in early May.

The association invited TAITRA and three other private groups from Taiwan - the Taiwan Provincial Farmers' Association, the Federation of Taiwan Provincial Agricultural Co-operatives and the Taiwan Provincial Fruit Marketing Co-operative for the proposed negotiations.

But the DPP administration decided not to accept the invitation on Sunday and discouraged the three private groups from participating.

The decision was made on the grounds that Beijing should not interfere in the composition of Taiwan's negotiating team and should deal exclusively with Taipei's approved representatives.

But such an excuse, high-sounding and superficial, does not make any sense. Rather, it demonstrated nothing but Taipei's lack of sincerity in facilitating the fruit talks.

On the one hand, there is no reason for Taipei to insist on talks between the mainland and the TAITRA only, which has little expertise in promoting Taiwan's agricultural exports. In fact, TAITRA has not taken any practical steps on the issue since being designated on June 13 to negotiate the fruit exports.

The DPP's motive is also questionable in excluding other private agricultural bodies from the fruit talks. Can the DPP administration justify its refusal of the three groups to represent the island's fruit industry if it really wants to promote the interests of Taiwanese farmers?

Obviously, the DPP administration's real intention is to block implementation of the mainland's economic incentives for Taiwanese farmers.

The intention was exposed by Taiwan "president" Chen Shui-bian's claim on Monday that the mainland's offer of tariff-free imports of Taiwanese fruits has "a 100 per cent political motive, a full-fledged war to achieve the goal of reunification" with Taiwan.

The leader also accused the mainland of using the fruit offensive to woo Taiwanese farmers away from his ruling party and help the opposition win the 2008 "presidential" elections.

Chen's overture fully suggested the election-minded leader and his administration are bent on political calculation. What they cherish most is their electoral performance rather than the well-being of Taiwanese farmers and fruit-growers. For them, the farmers' suffering from an oversupply of fruits in the harvest season is only a part of their dirty political game.

The ruling DPP administration, out of their strong political ideology, tends to politicize every cross-Straits issue and demonize the mainland's goodwill gestures. That tells us why they have been attempting to manipulate economic rules with their political will and hinder the free flow of agricultural products across the Straits.

Source: China Daily