Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) yesterday urged the public to look at the upcoming cross-strait talks with an open mind, adding that he would conduct all negotiations under the principle that Taiwan is the focus and that the interests of the public come first.

Chiang said he hoped the Chinese people and the international community would see Taiwan’s democracy and rationality during exchanges between the SEF and its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS).