Human rights groups yesterday protested in front of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) headquarters in Taipei, urging officials to include personal safety on the agenda of the next round of talks with China that begin tomorrow and calling for the immediate release of Bruce Chung (鍾鼎邦), a Taiwanese businessman and Falun Gong practitioner who has been detained in China for more than 50 days.

The eighth meeting between the foundation and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits is to be held in Taipei from today until Friday. An investment protection agreement and a customs cooperation agreement are expected to be signed during the meeting.