The Presidential Office reiterated yesterday that the 23 million people of Taiwan would have the final say on the nation’s future after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) told CommonWealth (天下雜誌) magazine he had not ruled out unification with China.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said various polls have shown that different people had different expectations for Taiwan’s future. Any opinion peacefully advocated deserves respect in a democracy, he said.
Unification, independence and the “status quo” should all be options in a democratic country, he said.
As for Ma’s preference, Wang said it was clear that Taiwan’s future should be decided by its people.
“It is unnecessary to dwell on or distort Ma’s remark that he does not rule out unification with China,” Wang said.
“If you want to ask me what the president’s preference is, it is the same as the majority of the people: no unification, no independence and no use of military force to resolve any cross-strait dispute. In short, to maintain the ‘status quo,’” the spokesman said.
The president told CommonWealth, a Chinese-language business magazine, that 80 percent of the public were in favor of the “three nos” he had proposed — no discussion of unification with Beijing during his presidency, no pursuit or support of de jure independence and no use of military force to resolve the Taiwan issue.
“No unification” does not mean unification has been ruled out, just that it would not be discussed because there would not be an answer over the next eight years, he told the magazine.
While Ma has also said independence was not an option for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Wang said that there was no contradiction in the president’s remarks because for the KMT the Republic of China is already an independent sovereignty.
However, if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wanted to pursue de jure independence, it has the right to do so, he said, but eventually it is the people who would have the final say on the matter.
On May 20, Ma said in English during a press conference with foreign correspondents that the development of cross-strait relations should be decided by Taiwanese, but it was premature to make a decision now.
“Whether what’s going to be the future between Taiwan and the mainland should be decided, on our part, by the people of Taiwan, maybe by future generations,” Ma said.
“I don’t think conditions are ripe for making a decision now,” he said.
DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said yesterday that Ma made the remark on unification to CommonWealth because he was under pressure from Beijing and he was trying to substantiate the unification framework.
Beijing wants Ma to give up his ‘no unification’ stance, he said, adding that the DPP doesn’t think Ma will be able to resist Beijing’s pressure since he’s already following Beijing step by step, Cheng said.
ONE CHINA
Ma had already accepted the “one China” framework on several occasions when dealing with Beijing, which was tantamount to moving toward unification, Cheng said.
Meanwhile, DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said a recent poll by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission found 64.6 percent of respondents consider themselves Taiwanese and only 11.5 percent said they are Chinese.
Ma’s unification remark “raped” mainstream opinion, Chai said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), who is close to Ma, shrugged off the DPP’s criticism, saying Ma was simply “elaborating” on his policy of “no unification with China, no independence and no use of force.”
‘REAFFIRMING POLICY’
“Ma proposed the policy during his presidential campaign and after he won the election,” Wu said. “President Ma was simply reaffirming the policy, which was aimed at stabilizing the nation.
“He has not contradicted himself,” Wu said.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said the independence versus unification debate was moot.
“We should not talk about unification with China or about seeking independence at the moment. It is more important for everyone to focus on how to boost the economy,” Lo said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND RICH CHANG
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