Chen Yunlin, seated left, chairman of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, and Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation, sign an investment protection pact at a Taipei hotel, Taiwan, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. Taiwan and China signed the pact Thursday, another step on the road to closer business ties that so far seems to be falling short of promises to energize Taiwan's sputtering economy. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)