President Chen Shui-bian (
Upon examining both Chen's speech and Zhang's statement, it isn't hard to see that Beijing's stubborn stance on the "one China" principle continues to be the obstacle to any meaningful improvement in the cross-strait relationship.
Almost all would agree that the most noteworthy element of Chen's talk was his call for using the 1992 cross-strait talks in Hong Kong as the basis for an acceptable solution and in preparation to push for further negotiations. Chen's statement is not an acknowledgement of what Beijing calls the "1992 consensus under which each side [of the Taiwan Strait] makes its own interpretation of `one China'," since it would mean an acceptance of the "one China" principle. Chen is not at liberty to accept this, even if he wanted to. As Taiwan is already completely democratized, although he is the president, Chen has no authority to make such an acceptance -- which has serious implications for the future and status of Taiwan -- without getting the support of the people of Taiwan.
The truth of the matter is that the closest thing to a consensus -- if it can even be called a consensus -- that the two sides have ever reached was to agree that, since they could not reach any consensus on the political issue of the "one China" principle, they might as well move on to deal with non-political administrative issues.
During the 1992 meeting in Hong Kong, negotiations over handling document certification broke down as a result of the two sides' inability to agree on the "one China" principle. So the two sides then began to speak about the possibility of leaving aside political issues to pursue non-political ones. This meeting in Hong Kong was the precursor to what Taiwan believes is the consensus -- to move on and deal with non-political issues first. This is precisely what Chen was calling for in his speech on Sunday.
The pragmatism demonstrated by Chen's talk was acknowledged and well-received by countries such as the US and Japan. In particular, less than three hours after Chen gave his speech, the US State Department spokeswoman Darla Jordan, in a statement, called Chen's talk "constructive."
The flexibility of Chen's talk was further demonstrated by the fact that it was criticized by many members of the pro-independence group. For example, Senior Advisor to the President Koo Kwang-ming (
Beijing evidently didn't like the speech either. On Wednesday, Zhang accused Chen of practicing Taiwan independence and again called for acknowledgement of the so-called "1992 consensus" and to "leave aside the political disputes, so as to resume cross-strait talks on the basis of the `one China' principle."
But what political dispute is left between the two sides once Taiwan accepts "one China" and negotiates on that basis? In view of Zhang's usual rhetoric, it is clear that China isn't ready to deal with Taiwan in any manner until Taiwan acknowledges that it is part of China. This was, of course, not the first time that Beijing has rejected goodwill gestures made by Taiwan. Under the circumstances, one cannot help but wonder: why should Taiwan bother to extend an olive branch to China?
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