Taiwan is ready to sign a medical cooperation agreement with China, which is expected to benefit the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, in the latest round of bilateral negotiations next week, Taiwanese officials said Wednesday. With preparatory talks having been completed, the heads of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) should have no problem signing the deal in their sixth round of bilateral negotiations scheduled to be held Dec. 20-22 in Taipei between SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and ARATS President Chen Yunlin. The agreement will be the 15th and one of the the most wide-ranging agreements between the two sides since President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May 2008, Lai Shin-yuan, minister of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said in a joint press conference held by the MAC and the Department of Health (DOH). Prevention of epidemics, management of research and development of medical products, management and research of traditional Chinese medicine, and first aid and emergency medical treatment, will be included in the agreement, according to the DOH. Among them, prevention of epidemics and management of traditional Chinese medicine are considered the most urgent items, said Deputy Health Minister Hsiao Mei-ling. With a platform for information-sharing and a mechanism for pandemic notification established, Taiwan's health authorities will be better able to deal with severe epidemics and outbreaks of contagious diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and H1N1 influenza, according to Chang Feng-yee, director-general of the DOH's Centers for Disease Control. The DOH said China has agreed to a 'five noes' principle that stated Taiwan will not allow Chinese medical professionals to take local licensing exams; that Taiwan will not allow Chinese medical professionals to practice here; that Taiwan will not allow Chinese investment in building and running local hospitals; that Taiwan's national health insurance program will not pay for medical bills incurred by its citizens in Chinese medical facilities; and that the agreement will not contain any provisions regarding joint efforts to educate and cultivate medical professionals. However, not everything went smoothly in the negotiations, as both sides confirmed that an investment protection agreement will not be signed as planned due to disagreement over trade dispute settlement measures and human safety protection. In addition to the signing ceremony, Chen is scheduled to visit the Taipei International Flora Expo, but he will not meet with President Ma, MAC Deputy Chairman Liu Te-hsun told reporters. 