President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) should not accept the "one China" principle under the Constitution of the Republic of China, as some scholars have suggested.
That's the opinion of more than 30 presidential advisors and national policy advisors, who yesterday sent a joint letter to the president asking him to reject the variation of the "one China" principle.
Fourteen other national policy advisors have urged the president to accept the controversial principle under the ROC Constitution.
"The Republic of China is an independent nation that enjoys sovereignty," yesterday's letter stated. "The so-called `one China' principle is a trap set by Beijing, and the president must not acknowledge `one China' under the ROC Constitutional framework."
The letter also took issue with a secret visit to Beijing by two national policy advisors, Hsu Wun-pin (許文彬) and Chuang Po-lin (莊柏林). After returning, the pair started a petition that advocated a position similar to the so-called "1992 consensus," which posits that there is "one China, with each side having its own interpretation" (九二共識, 一中各表).
"Their acts were extremely inappropriate," the letter said.
Sources say the joint letter was initiated by Fang Jen-hui (方仁惠), a member of the Economic Development Advisory Conference.
The letter was co-signed by more than 30 influential figures, including senior advisors to the president -- Koo Kuan-min (辜寬敏) and Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) -- as well as Huang Tien-ling (黃天麟), former chairman of First Commercial Bank and currently a national policy advisor.
The presidential advisors also said that it was inappropriate to address the "one China" principle before the work of the Economic Development Advisory Conference gets underway.
"The people of Taiwan have achieved a consensus that Taiwan's future must be decided by its 23 million people," the letter said. "Therefore, we believe that `one China' must not be listed as the only choice for Taiwan's development, and the people must not be deprived of their right to self-determination."
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