Petition prompts varied responses

The joint petition filed to the president recently by 14 national policy advisors, including myself, has prompted different interpretations, attesting to the Taiwanese people's deep concern about the cross-strait relations issue, which therefore deserves rational discussion. But it is necessary to clarify some of the viewpoints.

Some stated that the Economic Development Advisory Conference (經發會) should not get involved in political issues. They are apparently unaware that we, in the capacity of national policy advisors, provided the president with our suggestions through normal procedures, instead of putting forth the issue to the conference.

The petition was presented for reference before the work of the conference gets underway because the conference had a discussion group on cross-strait economic and trade issues.

Some suspected that the petition might trigger disputes over the unification-independence issue.

After a closer look at the petition, they will know that the idea of "one China under the ROC Constitution's framework" serves only as a basis for understanding and a common language needed by the two sides across the Taiwan Strait to reopen their dialogues.

In other words, the idea is a starting point for breaking the cross-strait deadlock without touching the sensitive issue of the two sides' status.

Still others questioned that the petition is aimed at establishing the three direct links (三通) and relaxing the "no haste, be patient" (戒急用忍) policy.

In reality, the "one China" principle mentioned in the petition belongs to the abstract and "metaphysical" level, and therefore does no harm to Taiwan's stance and dignity.

Whether or not the three links should be established and "no haste, be patient" policy be relaxed are substantive matters. Since this part is related to Taiwan's economic interests, members of the Economic Development Advisory Conference should carefully deal with it.

Our petition is not intended to press the government.

Instead, we believe that we should stay firm on the "Taiwan first" perspective.

This petition, which promoted the one China framework under the Constitution, was motivated by the current bleak economic prospects and the cross-strait deadlock. We are worried that as this situation drags on, it may become much more difficult to salvage Taiwan's worsening economy. Therefore, we simply tried to seek solutions and provided suggestions to the government for reference. No ulterior motives were involved.

Hsu Wun-pin is a national policy advisor to the president.

Translated by Jackie Lin