Although China has political clout in many fields, it is up to Taiwan and its trade partners to decide whether to sign free trade agreements (FTAs) , a visiting Taiwanese official said Monday. Government Information Office Minister Johnny Chiang, who arrived in New York last weekend for a media tour, further said during meetings with senior American journalists that relations across the Taiwan Strait have moved forward from confrontation to reconciliation under President Ma Ying-jeou's 'flexible diplomacy' approach. Since Ma assumed office in May 2008, Chiang said, 14 cross-Taiwan Strait agreements have been signed to boost exchanges and cooperation in various fields, including tourism, direct transport links and judicial aid. The most important among them is the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) signed June 29, which Chiang said will contribute to the institutionalization of cross-strait trade ties and to Taiwan's economic integration into regional development. During separate meetings with Aparism 'Bobby' Ghosh, Time Magazine's deputy international editor, and Matthew Kaminski, a member of The Wall Street Journal editorial board, Chiang also said steady development in cross-strait ties is conducive to Asia-Pacific peace. The two major American media organizations are very concerned about developments in cross-strait relations, and both Ghosh and Kaminski asked Chiang whether China will hobble Taiwan's bid to sign FTAs with its trade partners. In response, Chiang said that recent progress in cross-strait ties is expected to help reduce difficulties and enhance the probability that Taiwan will be able to strike FTAs with other countries. But he added that the decision rests with Taiwan and its trade partners. Moreover, he added, what Taiwan cares about the most is whether such agreements will benefit its people rather than how many can be signed. Asked about Taiwan's internal opposition to the ECFA, Chiang said there tends to be opposition in any process of promoting trade liberalization. Every country encounters opposition in the pursuit of trade liberalization as some sectors will be adversely affected, and Taiwan is no exception, Chiang said. Noting that tariff reductions and easier market access terms offered by the pact will offer Taiwanese manufacturers fairer opportunities to enter the Chinese market and eventually help upgrade Taiwan's competitiveness in the world market, Chiang said more people in Taiwan will come to understand that the deal will contribute to the country's development. On the possibility of Taiwan accepting the Hong Kong-style 'one country, two systems' terms for unification with China, Chiang said this would be out of the question. Stressing that Taiwan is now a full-fledged democracy with its people eligible to directly elect their president and lawmakers, Chiang said the Hong Kong model is completely unacceptable to Taiwan. In fact, he said, many Hong Kong citizens envy Taiwan's democratic system, and Taiwan has emerged as a beacon of democracy for Hong Kong and China. Both Time and The Wall Street Journal are also concerned about cross-strait reconciliation and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Chiang said Taiwan shares common values with the United States in terms of democracy, freedom, peace and human rights and needs strong defenses to negotiate and engage with China with confidence and strength. 'We look forward to continued U.S. provision of defensive weapons to us in line with the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act, ' Chiang said. He also called for the U.S. to resume talks with Taiwan under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and to grant Taiwanese tourists visa- free privileges. On Taiwan's economic situation, Chiang said the global financial crisis has affected the Taiwan economy. Thanks to the government's various stimulus measures and the concerted efforts of the private sector, the country has emerged from the recession. The government has projected that the economic growth rate will reach 6.14 percent this year, while the International Monetary Fund is even more optimistic, recently increasing its forecast from 6.6 percent to 7.7 percent, he said. 