(1) Foreword
On February 27, 2014, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) held the 10th Round of High-Level Talks in Taipei and the two sides agreed to list the issues of “avoidance of double taxation and enhancement of tax cooperation” and “collaboration on flight safety and airworthiness standards” as priority issues in subsequent negotiations. The competent authorities on both sides in charge of the two issues have achieved a considerable consensus after several rounds of communications under the arrangements made by the SEF and ARATS.
The Mainland Affairs Council（MAC）has formally authorized the SEF to proceed with the arrangement and negotiation with the ARATS for matters related to “the 11th Round of Cross-Strait High-Level Talks” and the signing of the “Cross-Strait Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Enhancement of Tax Cooperation” and “Cross-Strait Collaboration Agreement on Flight Safety and Airworthiness.” Through contacts and arrangements, the SEF and ARATS agreed to hold the 11th SEF-ARATS High-Level Talks between August 24 and 26 at Shimao Intercontinental Hotel in Fuzhou.

(2) Major Itinerary
On August 22, SEF Vice Chairman Chou Ji-Shine arrived in Fuzhou at the head of the SEF advance party to carry out preparatory work in advance; in the morning on August 24, SEF Chairman Lin Join-sane led the SEF negotiation delegation to arrive in Fuzhou and they returned to Taipei at noon on August 26 after completing their mission successfully. Major itinerary between August 24 and 26 included the following:
1. Preparatory meeting
At 3 p.m. on August 24, SEF Vice Chairman Shih Hui-fen held preparatory meeting with ARATS Vice President Zheng Lizhong.
2. High level talks
At 9 a.m. on August 25, SEF Chairman Lin Join-sane held the high level talks with ARATS President Chen Deming.
3. Signing agreements
At 2 p.m. on August 25, SEF Chairman Lin and ARATS President Chen signed the “Cross-Strait Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Enhancement of Tax Cooperation” and “Cross-Strait Collaboration Agreement on Flight Safety and Airworthiness.”
4. Press conference
At 2:30 p.m. on August 25, the SEF and ARATS negotiation delegations held press conference with domestic and foreign journalists in succession.
5. Meetings
1) At 4 p.m. on August 25, Minister Zhang Zijun of the Mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office（TAO）met with SEF Chairman Lin and the SEF negotiation delegation at Yu Shan Hotel Fuzhou.
2) At 8:15 a.m. on August 26, Governor Su Shulin of Fujian met with the SEF and ARATS negotiation delegations at C&D Hotel Fuzhou.

(3) Significance and Achievements of the 11th Round of Talks
1. Implementing the spirit of cross-strait institutionalized negotiations to move steadily forward afar and create new situation again
The SEF and ARATS have held 11 rounds of high-level talks since resuming institutionalized negotiations in June 2008. Through the orderly operation of institutionalized negotiations, pragmatic discussions and solving related issues, the two organizations have not only safeguarded the rights, interests and well-being of people on both sides, but also facilitated positive interactions across the Taiwan Strait and further enhanced cross-strait peaceful stability and prosperous development through cross-strait dialogue, negotiation and accumulated mutual trust.
2. Signing two agreements
(A) “Cross-Strait Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Enhancement of Tax Cooperation”
1) Mainland China has become a major foreign investment area for Taiwanese businesses and so far the Mainland has signed tax agreements with 102 countries and areas in the world. The fact that the two sides across the Taiwan Strait did not sign a tax agreement has put Taiwanese businesses at a disadvantageous competing position. In response to the increasingly closer cross-strait economic, trade and investment relations, it is indeed necessary and urgent for the two sides to negotiate for and sign the “Cross-Strait Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Enhancement of Tax Cooperation.”
2) The agreement includes text and an annex, “Specific Arrangements for the two sides across the Taiwan Strait to Avoid Double Taxation and Enhancement of Tax Cooperation”:
(a) The content of the text covers mainly scope of application, tax collection (operating profit, maritime and air transport revenues, investment income and capital gains, personal service income, other incomes), methods of eliminating double taxation, non-discriminatory treatment, negotiation with each other, exchange of information, assisting tax collection, business exchanges and contact body.
(b) The annex states clearly specific arrangements such as the scope, permanent organizations and operating profit, affiliated enterprises, maritime and air transport income, investment yields, estate income, personal service income, other incomes, methods of eliminating double taxation, non-discriminatory treatment, negotiation with each other and other regulations.
3) According to the agreement, through mutual reduction and exemption of the other side’s business and personal income tax, a low tax environment will be created to not only enhance the competitiveness of Taiwanese businesses in the Mainland but also help increase the attractiveness of Taiwan’s investment environment to the Mainland and foreign investments, thus bringing along investment, creating job opportunities, promoting economic growth and increasing tax revenues. After the agreement takes effect, it will bring about the benefits of “reducing individual and corporate income tax burdens (one reduction), increasing Taiwanese businesses’ competitiveness in the Mainland and the attractiveness of Taiwan’s investment environment (two increases), and reaping gains for the people, business and government on both sides (three gains).”
(B) “Cross-Strait Collaboration Agreement on Flight Safety and Airworthiness”
1). Since the opening of direct air transport in July 2008, the number of regular cross-strait passenger will soon increase from the current 840 weekly flights to 890 weekly flights in the near future, and there are 84 cargo flights every week. Total transportation is more than 50 million passsengers. Since planes have to undergo pre-flight airworthiness check by qualified maintenance personnel and receive a release approval to ensure the safety of each flight, but existing products and components of the two sides are not mutually certified. So airline maintenance personnel have to travel with planes in order to do pre-flight check on the other side. Signing the agreement can achieve the goal of cooperation between civil flight safety and airworthiness supervising authorities of the two sides, reduce potential aviation risks and ensure the safety of passengers’ life.
2). According to the agreement, the two sides agreed to strengthen the exchange and cooperation regarding flight safety and airworthiness matters based on the principles of safeguarding flight safety, equality and reciprocity. The scope of cooperation includes specification field, supervision mechanism, certificate administration, professional recognition and information exchange and reporting, so that the two sides can work together to establish the cross-strait supervising mechanism for flight safety and airworthiness to enhance cross-strait civil aviation development.
3). After the agreement takes effect, airline companies on both sides can commission maintenance organizations on the other side to carry out pre-flight maintenance and release work according to the agreement. This will help lower the operating cost on the part of airline companies, enhance competitiveness and flight safety, and reduce the possibility of flight delay due to mechanical problems, effectively enhancing the passengers’ safety and convenience and establishing an aviation environment with good quality and better protection.
3. Jointly discussing the issues to be negotiated in the 12th round of talks
Regarding negotiation issues for the 12th round of talks, the two sides agreed to continue promotion of negotiation on four issues on which related discussions have yet been concluded, including trade in goods , dispute settlement, reciprocal establishment of SEF-ARATS offices, and cooperation on environmental protection. They also agreed that agreements may be signed once a consensus has been reached.
4. Reviewing the effective implementation and promotion of the agreements
Signing an agreement is as important as implementing it. To actually implement signed agreements, the two sides also discussed and exchanged opinions on the implementation of the agreements signed previously by the SEF and ARATS, including pacts on joint crime-fighting and judicial mutual assistance, medical and health cooperation, food safety, and investment protection and promotion. Both sides affirmed the effective implementation of these agreements. For example, the designated contact person established under the Cross-Strait Food Safety Agreement has enabled prompt mutual notification of unsafe food product information in 2,430 cases, ensuring food safety and health of people on both sides. The Agreement on Joint Crime-Fighting and Mutual Judicial Assistance has enabled the two sides to mutually provide judicial documents, conduct investigations and gather evidence, and assist with arrest and repatriation in over 72,000 cases, and through exchange of crime-related information, the two sides have jointly cracked 153 cases resulting in 7,490 arrests. In addition, the Mainland has repatriated to 410 criminals and criminal suspects to Taiwan, contributing significantly to the maintenance of social security. With regards to implementation problems on the repatriation of major economic criminals, a high-profile issue in Taiwan, and the Mainland's protection of Taiwan business investment interests, the Taiwan side reiterated public opinion and the people's concerns and expressed hope for the Mainland to actively handle these problems and implement the signed agreement to safeguard the safety of people’s life and property across the Taiwan Strait.
5. Strengthening internal and external communications regarding cross-strait negotiations and respecting legislature supervision
The SEF has been promoting cross-strait institutionalized negotiations under the democratic mechanism of “any agreement would have to be necessary to the ROC, it would have to be supported by the public, and the entire process would have to be subject to oversight by the national legislature.” In response to people’s appeal for transparent public policies, the Executive Yuan has formulated the draft “Cross-Strait Agreement Supervisory Act” and sent it to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation. Although the statute has not yet completed the legislative procedures, but the two agreements signed in the 11th round of talks have been done according to Article 5 of the “Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area” and the spirit of the above-mentioned draft act, after confirm that there is no national security risk following fully completed external communications and national security review at various stages. After signing the agreements, the Executive Yuan will also send the two agreements to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation or future reference according to the law, so that the agreements can take effect.

(4) Conclusion
The SEF and ARATS have held 11 rounds of high-level talks, signed 23 agreements and issued two consensuses and three common opinions since June 2008, symbolizing cross-strait negotiations have matures and established a complete mechanism and expanded and deepened cross-strait cooperation in various fields. Implementing various signed agreements and strengthening interaction between government agencies across the Taiwan Strait is the specific realization that the two sides are facing the reality, shelving disputes and creating the win-win situation, not only pragmatically solving problems arising from increased cross-strait exchanges but also providing people across the Taiwan Strait institutionalized protection.
In the future, the SEF will continue following President Ma Ying-jeou’s policy instructions to strive for the accumulation of mutual trust and strengthened consensus to seek the peaceful stability and prosperous development of cross-strait relations based on the “1992 Consensus,“ whereby each side acknowledges the existence of “one China” but maintains its own interpretation of what it means, insisted on the principles of “parity, dignity and reciprocity” and “any agreement would have to be necessary to the nation, it would have to be supported by the people, and the entire process would have to be subject to oversight by the legislature” according to government authorization and orderly and stably promotion of cross-strait exchange, dialogue and negotiation.