Taiwan set on closer cross-Strait ties

Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang is likely to defy the wishes of the pro-independence lobby and ease controls on cross-Strait investment in the mainland, the Financial Times reported. Speaking at a government-organized conference Thursday after delegates from the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) demanded that he pledge not to further economic ties with Beijing, Su said that such decisions would be made by the cabinet alone. In response, the TSU declared war on the cabinet. �We will do whatever it takes, including mass demonstrations,� said TSU lawmaker David Huang. Su is widely expected to win the Democratic Progressive Party nomination to run for president in 2008 and said he hoped the conference would given him a mandate to pursue economic reform. Taiwan companies have up to US$150 billion invested in the mainland, with 71% of the island's outward FDI heading there last year. However, investments are capped at 40% of a company's net worth.