Group aims to restart cross-strait talks

A spokesman for the President's Advisory Group on Cross-Strait Relations said yesterday that the group's goal when it reconvenes in March will be to facilitate a resumption of dialogue between Taiwan and China.

"The advisory group hopes to reach a consensus to recommend that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) invite Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫) and Wang Dao-han (汪道涵) to meet to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first meeting in Singapore in 1993," said Hsiao Hsin-huang (蕭新煌), a member of the group and a research fellow at the Academia Sinica, who has been designated as spokesman by the group.

"They could even discuss the issue of the so-called `1992 consensus' and establish its concrete meaning, which might break the current deadlock in cross-strait dialogue and help resume cross-strait negotiations," he added.

Hsiao yesterday reporters that the advisory group is preparing to meet every three months starting in March and stressed that the first issue that the 23 members of the group will discuss will be the primary obstacle to the resumption of cross-strait dialogue -- the so-called "1992 consensus."

"If the issue has become the crux to improving cross-strait relations," Hsiao said, "then the advisory group should help to bridge communication between the two sides."

"We believe that Wang and Koo will both be very willing to meet on the anniversary," Hsiao said, "and the advisory group, which is in a better position than the government to assuage Beijing's worries, can invite the two heavyweights to meet at a proper place."

The advisory group was organized by Lee Yuan-tse (李遠哲), president of the Academia Sinica, in August 2000 and published a declaration in November that year called the "Three acknowledgements and four suggestions" (三個認知、四個建議), which called upon the government to deal with cross-strait affairs under the framework of the ROC Constitution.

The group then announced its dissolution in December 2000, saying it had accomplished its brief.