BEIJING, May 31 -- Ignoring Beijing's latest offer to open preparatory talks on across-Strait free trade arrangement, Taiwan's leader Chen Shui-bian is requesting a FTA negotiation with the United States.

    Meeting John Rockefeller IV, US Democratic Senator from West Virginia, in Taipei on Monday, Chen said that Taiwan desperately needs a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States to protect itself against Chinese mainland's growing economic dominance.

    "China has been negotiating agreements with countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America in an attempt to marginalize Taiwan ... making Taiwan unable to breathe in the international community," the Associated Press quoted Chen as saying.

    Analysts in the mainland said that Chen Shui-bian was ignoring Beijing's call for talks leading to closer economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait. And, there is a growing demand among Taiwan businesses to forge closer economic and trade arrangement between the island and the mainland.

    During the visits to the mainland by Taiwan's two largest opposition party leaders, Mr Lien Chan of KMT (Kuomintang Party) and Mr James Soong of People's First Party, Beijing offered to open initial talks on across-Strait Free Trade Agreement, seeking win-win between Taiwan and the mainland. However, Taiwan authorities led by Chen has not responded positively to the proposal.

    Chen Shuibian told the US Senator on Monday that he hoped "the US Congress would take active steps to sign a free trade agreement with Taiwan, so that the world would not tilt towards China".

    Mainland analysts said Chen was concerned that a closer economic link, such as FTA, will lead to closer people-to-people contact and amiability between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, eroding Chen's pro-independence constituency.

    On a visit to Washington last year a delegation from the American Chamber of Commerce insisted a free trade agreement with Taiwan would be premature, singling out pharmaceuticals, intellectual property rights protection and government procurement as areas where the island needed to improve before a trade pact would be appropriate.

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)