The Chinese mainland is hoping the Taiwan authorities will allow a delegation of officials to the upcoming cross-Strait forum on agricultural cooperation, a mainland spokesman said Monday.

The forum was an important channel between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Kuomintang Party and was different from exchanges and visits between high-level officials of the two sides, said a spokesman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.

The mainland wanted to send a delegation led by Chen Yunlin, director of the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, but the application was rejected by the Taiwan authorities last year because of the suspension of negotiations between the two sides, the spokesman said.

However, Chen's delegation would not be involved in issues other than agricultural cooperation, and would have nothing to do with the resumption of cross-Strait negotiations or other talks between the two sides.

The mainland hoped the Taiwan authorities would permit Chen's delegation to attend the forum, said the spokesman, adding that details of the visit would be discussed with appropriate officials once it was scheduled.

Chen Yunlin was invited to the forum twice last November by Taiwan's Foundation for Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, but was rejected by the Taiwan authorities the same month, so the mainland association regarded it as meaningless to respond to invitations at that time, the spokesman said.

The mainland had been trying every possible means to promote exchanges and economic cooperation since the cross-Strait negotiations were suspended in 2000, the spokesman noted.

As a part of the inter-party exchanges, the forum was scheduled by the CPC and Kuomintang last year to be held in Taipei in October this year.

(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2006)