Taipei, Jan. 28 (CNA) The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) laid out on Tuesday the parameters it hopes Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) head Wang Yu-chi will follow on his upcoming trip to China, including defending Taiwan's sovereignty and avoiding talk of unification.

Wang, whose agency is responsible for planning Taiwan's China policy, announced earlier Tuesday that he will fly to China on Feb. 11 for a four-day trip and meet with Zhang Zhijun, the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office.

It will be the first time an MAC chairman visits China, considered significant because the two countries have frowned on direct contacts by government officials in the past.

Joseph Wu, executive director of the DPP's Policy Research Committee, said the planned meeting between Wang and Zhang should be based on three principles: the upholding of Taiwan's sovereignty, openness and transparency, and parliamentary oversight.

Wu said Wang needed to brief the public and the Legislature on details of the trip before he leaves for China and after he returns.

Among the issues that should be discussed at the Wang-Zhang meeting, Wu said, are promoting human rights and freedom and reopening negotiations on the cross-strait service trade agreement, which was signed in June 2013 but has not been approved by Taiwan's Legislature.

He also urged that Wang and Zhang discuss the implementation of cross-strait agreements on food safety, joint efforts on fighting crime, and investment protection.

Wang did not mention any of those issues at a press conference earlier in the day, indicating instead that the meeting would focus on normalizing exchanges between Taiwanese and Chinese officials and promoting joint participation in regional economic integration.

Issues that should not be touched on, Wu said, include the one-China principle, the termination of hostilities, and the establishment of a cross-strait peace agreement and mutual military trust mechanism.

The DPP is also opposed to consultations on a political structure before the unification of Taiwan and China or issues related to cross-strait unification, Wu said.

If the Wang-Zhang meeting reaches agreement on political issues that should not be discussed, those agreements must be put to a national referendum in Taiwan before they can move forward, the DPP official added.

Wu also urged the Chinese government to release all detained human-rights advocates to show the world it follows universal values.

(By Justin Su and Y.L. Kao)
Enditem/ls