As the Presidential Office's Economic Development Advisory Conference gets underway, many of Taiwan's unresolved political and economic problems are being brought up for debate. The "one China" issue, cited as a factor that affects cross-strait economic and trade relations, is also threatening to become a subject of political wrangling.
Having fiddled with the concept of a confederation for a while, the KMT initially planned to propose the incorporation of the idea into the party's charter at its 16th national congress this Sunday, in order to distinguish Chairman Lien Chan (
The idea has also started a fierce debate within the KMT. The pro-unification elements in the party are suspicious of the idea, which they view as a maneuver for independence first and then unification. The pro-localization factions are uncomfortable with what they see as "pre-determined unification." Lien has come under fire from all sides over the proposal and so the KMT finally decided to shelve the idea of making confederation part of its party platform.
Last Friday a group of 14 national policy advisors to the president, including Hsu Wun-pin (許文彬) and Chuang Po-lin (莊柏林), sent a joint letter to Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) suggesting that "one China according to the ROC Constitution" be used as a foundation for defining cross-strait relations. They suggested that Chen use that concept to counter Beijing's "one China" and to facilitate the resumption of cross-strait dialogue. The advisors based their suggestion on Chen's statement that "one China" is written in the ROC Constitution and, therefore, is not a problem for the Taiwan government. This has led to suspicions that the advisors' letter was actually a trial balloon floated by the Presidential Office. The letter has provoked a lot of controversy in Taipei's political circles and even within the Presidential Office.
Now another group of 30 or more national policy advisors has sent a letter to Chen opposing "one China according to the ROC Constitution" idea. This group says "one China" is a trap set by Beijing and condemned Hsu and Chuang for organizing their letter drive immediately after returning from a visit to China.
"One China" is a major point of disagreement not only between the two sides of the Strait, but also between and within Taiwan's political parties. The KMT and People First Party advocate "one China, with each side making its own interpretation." The new political party that is under formation -- the Taiwan Solidarity Union -- advocates "special state-to-state relations." The DPP has a pro-independence party charter, but within the party there are differences between the pro-independence factions and the "march west" factions. The two letters highlight the disparity among presidential advisors. A consensus on "one China" is unlikely to be agreed upon any time soon.
Taiwan's economic problems are certainly linked to the positioning of cross-strait relations, but it is impractical to hope that the Economic Development Advisory Conference will resolve all of Taiwan's political and economic issues. Starting a new round of "one China" debate in the middle of the conference will only shift the focus away from economic issues and onto fruitless political disputes. The dispute may even derail the conference -- which would have a far-reaching and negative impact on Taiwan's development. This is not what the people of Taiwan expect.
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