Hsieh to pursue peace, but not with Ma

The legislation should include an announcement that the nation would not exclude the possibility of uniting with China, but unification should not happen unless a unification referendum is passed, Tsao said.

However, Taiwan will only hold such a unification referendum if China requests it, he said, adding that this could enhance direct communication between Taiwanese and Chinese.

If Taiwan were to hold a unification referendum, China should first reveal the details of its proposal for a "high degree of autonomy" to Taiwanese, Tsao said, adding that if such a referendum passes, this means the majority of Taiwanese agree that unification with China is more advantageous than asserting independence.

If such a referendum fails to pass, this means Taiwanese people remain doubtful about China's definition of autonomy, Tsao said, adding that China should revise its proposal and propose another referendum bid on unification about a decade later.

Earlier yesterday morning, Hsieh spokesman Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said Hsieh respected Tsao's proposal, emphasizing that Tsao's wish for cross-strait peace and stability was consistent with Hsieh's vision.

While Tsao urged the DPP and KMT to abandon their respective referendum proposals seeking UN membership, Chao said that the will of the 3 million people who endorsed the DPP's referendum proposal should be respected.

Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) said that Tsao must have a misconception about referendums because the government had no right to nullify a referendum proposal initiated by the people.

He said the likelihood of the Cabinet withdrawing the referendum bid on applying for UN membership using the name "Taiwan" was remote.

"The government is not authorized by the Referendum Law (公投法) to revoke the UN referendum initiated by the people that met the signature threshold to submit their request," Chang said.

Regarding Tsao's proposal for cross-strait peace, Chang said that different people have different propositions and he hoped the public understands that cross-strait policy is not set by the Cabinet but the president.

Chang said the suggestions made by Tsao were not workable in practice, even though it is everybody's wish to achieve cross-strait stability and peace.

"The cross-strait relationship can't be unilaterally decided [by the Taiwanese side]," Chang said when approached by the medias for comment on Tsao's letter.

Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan