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Harmony needed for peace in the Strait

March is a month of sun and blossoming of spring. Who would have expected that this March would be filled with problems that will be difficult to mend in the short term?

There are many reasons for this, but, in short, it stems from a lack of tolerance; everyone is thinking of their own interests and will accept no divergent opinions. Taiwan's domestic infighting has stifled the political climate and divisions are seen everywhere. Without domestic harmony, there can be neither cross-strait reconciliation nor friendly international relations.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun's (江丙坤) visit to China has led to intense conflict between the government and opposition, and some say that the KMT is joining the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in preventing Taiwan's development toward statehood. The fact that the KMT delegation did not meet with government officials before the visit should be subjected to public debate, but describing the visit as aiming to prevent Taiwan's development toward statehood is going too far.

The KMT is but an opposition party. It has no governmental status and thus cannot represent the nation in bilateral talks or when signing agreements with China. The 10-point agreement between the KMT and the CCP is not legally binding. Should the government ignore it, it becomes but the private action of a political party, so where does it get the power to "prevent Taiwan's development toward statehood?"

I believe that political parties should consider the issues from a public viewpoint, and not try to win advantages based on their own interests. The public sees through such actions, which are the beginning of the end for a political party. Parties clearly have to rely on their own efforts to win the public's trust.

Some believe that the timing of Chiang's visit has helped China relieve international pressure created by the "Anti-Secession" Law. I think the timing -- 15 days after the passage of the Anti-Secession Law and three days after the March 26 protests against that law -- had an impact on the March 26 demonstration, but it is debatable whether it had any impact on international sentiment.

The EU's delayed lifting of the arms embargo on China following the passage of the Anti-Secession Law is but a temporary diplomatic restriction. If the temptations and pressures of China's market cannot be resisted, the embargo will not continue for long. China is indeed a factory to the world, and it will inevitably continue to be so.

Placing our hopes in the international community is therefore less efficient than working for domestic unity. I hope that everyone will understand the urgency of pacifying the domestic situation before resisting foreign aggression.

The focus should now be placed on the question of whether the 10-point agreement that Chiang brought back will become a political tool and whether China will use KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) to attack President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Ignoring Chiang's 10-point agreement will also turn the 10-point consensus between Chen and Soong into an empty slogan.

The KMT should help the government and both parties should assess the importance and urgency of the two agreements before choosing the topics on which to cooperate -- based on the public's viewpoint. They must then take quick action to avoid setting off domestic struggles, being abandoned by the public and coming under China's thumb, thus gaining nothing. That is the worst that could happen. Domestic reconciliation is the only way out of the cross-strait problem.

Li Hua-chiu is a part-time researcher with the National Policy Foundation.

Translated by Perry Svensson
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