Across China: Beijing

Cross-Straits talks still set

Spokeswoman Fan Liqing for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said yesterday that mainland officials believe the Taiwan authorities will take necessary measures to maintain the security for next week's cross-Straits talks.

The island's opposition Democratic Progressive Party is threatening to organize a large-scale protest during next week's cross-Straits talk, which focuses on economic topics. On the other hand, 57 percent of Taiwanese believe it is time for political talks with the mainland to begin, according to a poll of 1,090 people interviewed by CommonWealth magazine published yesterday.