Sparks fly over KMT's controversial ad

Lin said that if independence is indeed a choice for the people of Taiwan as Ma acknowledged, then the development of cross-strait relations should be open and no prerequisite or conclusion for cross-strait relations should be set.

"If Ma and the KMT still oppose annulling the National Unification Council and unification guidelines that support Taiwan's unification with China, then Ma's remarks and the KMT's newspaper ad were all just part of a public manipulation campaign," Lin added.

Lin said that Ma should also clarify his previous remarks about "eventual unification" and should make clear the meaning of the word "people" in his phrase "Taiwan's future should be determined by all the people of Taiwan," by explaining whether it refers to the 23 million people of Taiwan or it includes the 1.3 billion people in China.

The DPP had planned to run an ad in yesterday's newspapers countering the KMT's ad, but it decided to postpone it.

"Recently Ma has vacillated and come out with a number of conflicting statements when talking about cross-strait relations. Therefore, the DPP has decided to keep an eye on his words and actions and react to Ma's latest version of cross-strait relations," Lin said.

DPP spokesman Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said that the DPP was happy to see the KMT move its cross-strait policies closer to the mainstream of Taiwanese public opinion, but that the party was uncertain whether Ma's words were aimed at cheating the people in the 2008 presidential election.

Even as the KMT endeavored to clarify the message contained in the ad, it was apparent that the issue had already caused conflict between the party and its pan-blue ally, the People First Party (PFP), who yesterday said the listing of independence as an option for Taiwan's future by the KMT could have "more serious consequences than the president's statement of intent to abolish the unification guidelines."

"The PFP has always stayed firm on our stance, which is to maintain the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. We are opposed to listing independence for Taiwan as an option," PFP spokesman Hsieh Kung-pin (謝公秉) said yesterday.

The cooperation between the PFP and the KMT, Hsieh said, is based on the same political ideology. In the face of the reunification/independence dispute, the KMT needs to clarify the matter and solve the controversy by itself.

"As the country's biggest opposition party, the listing of independence as an option for Taiwan's future by the KMT is unbelievable and it will only bring trouble for the people," Hsieh said.

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