Chen proposes cross-party dialogue

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said he will push for negotiations between the governing and opposition parties as a prelude to renewed cross-strait dialogue after the legislature has finished voting on a recall motion against him next Tuesday.

Despite the pan-blue camp's efforts to oust him, the recall motion stands little chance of passing in the legislature as it requires a two-thirds majority vote. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party hold only a slim majority of the legislature's 221 occupied seats.

"I have been contemplating how to pursue cross-strait dialogue, but in order to ensure cross-strait peace and stability, the first thing we must do is ensure a stable domestic political situation," said Chen, who made the remarks while receiving Mohammed Galadari, publisher of the United Arab Emirates daily Khaleej Times at the Presidential Office yesterday.

Chen didn't elaborate. However, his remarks were a preview of the administration's planned agenda after the opposition-sponsored recall drive comes to a conclusion next Tuesday.

Chen told his guests said he has been thinking about the issue of "where Taiwan should go" after next Tuesday's vote on the recall motion.

Chen said Taiwan must first ensure domestic stability before cross-strait peace can be possible.

He also said that the world has invested US$560 billion in China and that according to one US estimate, half of that has come from Taiwan.

Chen reaffirmed that Taiwan must maintain its economic independence, saying that China should not be "the only, the last and the whole market" of Taiwan.

In response, KMT Spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) yesterday accused the President of "playing a trick" with his new plan, and urged Chen to immediately step down.

"The biggest contribution Chen Shui-bian can make to Taiwan is to resign immediately. That would stabilize the political situation, and the governing party and the opposition would then be able to cooperate," she said at KMT headquarters.

Cheng said that Chen's proposal is just his attempt to "shift the focus." Unless Chen resigns, the party will not accept his invitation for cross-party negotiations.

"We do not trust Chen Shui-bian," she said.

During his talks with Galadari, Chen also mentioned that one ethnic group can form several countries.

"If we look around the world, we can see that one minzu [nation or ethnic group] does not necessarily have to form one country. It's possible that many minzu form one country or that one minzu forms many countries," Chen said.

Chen stopped short of saying that Taiwan must seek independence, but said Taiwan-China ties must be based on "peace, security and stability" in the Taiwan Strait.

Chen made the statement in response to Galadari's remark that although Taiwan and China use the same language, it does not mean that China must unify with Taiwan, just as people of the Arabian Peninsula use the same language but are divided into many countries.