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Lien touts gains after cross-strait cooperation forum(China Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Honorary Chairman Lien Chan of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) touted yesterday the achievements of the just-concluded cross-strait economic and business cooperation forum held in Beijing, saying the results were "better than expected." Chinese President Hu Jintao called for peace and joint development for future cross-strait relations. Speaking at a news conference after his meeting with Hu, who doubles as Chinese Communist Party general secretary, Lien said the 15 measures announced by Beijing at the conclusion of the forum with the purpose of opening its market further to Taiwan cover a wide range of fields much broader than was expected and will have far-reaching effects. Lien brushed aside his critics' claims in Taipei that he failed to prod Beijing to acknowledge the KMT's interpretation of "one China, respective interpretations" as the essence of the "1992 consensus." He said the such criticism wasn't worth responding to. The former vice president, who served as the KMT chief from 2000 to 2005, stressed that his party's stance on the relationship between Taiwan and China is crystal clear and definite, adding that it is more than his or KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou's personal views. On the "five visions" that he worked out with Hu during their first meeting in Beijing in April 2005, Lien said that they have already been translated into the KMT's political platform and that they were reaffirmed by Ma during his recent U.S. visit. Lien revealed that before he made his historic visit to China last year as the leader of Taiwan's largest opposition party, he informed President Chen Shui-bian that he would be taking the KMT's cross-strait policy proposals to China, proposals that were "very clear" and that "would not change a bit -- with nothing being added and nothing being taken away." "I specifically asked him (Chen), do you get me?" Lien added. The real problems between Taiwan and China today lie with Chen and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Lien said. He added that "these are their problems, which they themselves should solve. They should face the question posed by the media, namely: Do you accept 'one China, respective interpretations?'" On April 3, during a meeting with the KMT's incumbent Chairman Ma, Chen challenged Lien to urge China's Hu to publicly proclaim if Beijing accepts the KMT's version of "one China" -- the Republic of China (ROC). Hu did mention the 1992 consensus while meeting with Lien yesterday, but only expounding on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belonging to "one China" without mentioning whether he agreed with the KMT's interpretation of "one China" as the ROC. To a reporter who said Hu did not elaborate "one China, respective interpretations," Lien jokingly began his response by saying: "I believe you are not asking me this question on behalf of Chen Shui-bian." The KMT has been sticking to the "one China" principle as insisted by Beijing. But Lien and his party also insisted on letting Taipei and Beijing give their own respective interpretations. Some analysts said that when Hu refrained from mentioning the part of "respective interpretations," it could be interpreted as one form of respecting the KMT's "respective interpretations." When a journalist asked about his earlier claims that the difference between Taiwan and China lies in their different political systems, Lien said that it is obvious that Taiwan and China have different systems and that this doesn't need to be emphasized. However, he added that China has changed a lot in this regard and that the changes would be accelerated further in the future. Lien led a 170-member delegation to the KMT-CPC forum which was held April 14-15 in Beijing. A total of 115 of them were invited to attend the second dialogue between Lien and Hu yesterday morning. Hu underlined Beijing's policy of promoting peace and joint development between China and Taiwan. He also called for talks between the two sides as soon as possible to help maintain peace in the region. China and Taiwan should "resume talks on an equal footing as soon as possible," Hu told Lien. Hu stressed the importance of peace between the mainland and the island Beijing has claimed as its own since their split at the end of the civil war in 1949. Without mentioning Chen by name, Hu said ties have not moved forward because Taiwan's leaders have refused to embrace the 1992 consensus in which Beijing and Taipei's previous KMT administration agreed that both the island and the mainland are part of "one China". He also said there were some people making elaborate efforts to ignore the people's wishes and intentionally undermining the status quo. "Adhering to the 1992 consensus is an important basis for realizing peaceful development between the two sides," Hu said. Hu's overtures came on the heels of the suspension by Chen in late February of a symbolic body and guidelines on eventual unification with China. Beijing condemned Chen's move then, but Hu said yesterday China's policy towards Taiwan will not change. "We will fulfill our promises to Taiwan compatriots. There will be no change just because of momentary fluctuations in the situation or a small group of people interfering in or sabotaging" ties, Hu said without pinpointing any names. |