A peace accord Taipei and Beijing are seeking to sign is an interim accord paving the way for the ultimate goal of unification, an expert on cross-strait affairs said yesterday.
Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), a professor at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations (IIR), said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) made it clear in a speech at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2006 that unification is the ultimate goal.
In the speech, Ma said that as the Republic of China Constitution is a “one China” constitution, “it does not rule out the option of eventual reunification between Taiwan and Mainland China if the overall conditions across the Taiwan Strait are ripe.”
To attain that goal, Wu said, the Ma administration will create the most favorable environment, adding that he is worried the administration will leave Taiwanese with the sole option of unification under a “one China” framework.
“It runs counter to his campaign promise, which said that the future of Taiwan must be decided by the 23 million people of Taiwan,” he said. “If the Ma administration accepts China’s ‘one China’ principle for the purpose of negotiating political issues with Beijing, Taiwanese and the international community will think it is a rash move.”
Wu made the remarks at a forum on a cross-strait peace agreement organized by the IIR yesterday morning.
While Taipei and Beijing intend to ink a peace agreement and end the state of hostility, Wu expressed concern that if negotiations are conducted under the presumption that the Chinese Civil War is still ongoing, what it amounts to is the Taiwan issue is China’s domestic affair.
Wu proposed bringing in international players during negotiations of a peace agreement.
Wu said that Taiwan officially ended its hostility toward China when former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) abolished the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion (動員戡亂時期臨時條款) in 1991.
“What China must do is end its hostility toward Taiwan,” he said.
Tang Shao-cheng (湯紹成), a research fellow at the IIR, however, said it was necessary for both sides to sign a peace accord as the Chinese Civil War is not yet over.
Under his proposal, both sides would agree to sign a peace accord on the basis of the so-called “1992 consensus” to end enmity and abandon military means to resolve disputes. He proposed replacing the word “capital” with “the location of the government” in the accord and the title of Ma and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) with “leader of the Taiwan region” and “leader of the mainland region.”
As Hu is set to hand over power in March 2013 and Ma will take office in May 2012 if he wins a second term, Tang said it was more likely that both sides would sign a peace accord during this period.
“If all goes well, it might be possible they would win the Nobel Peace Prize,” he said.
Liu Guofen (劉國奮), a professor at Beijing’s Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it was “impractical” for Taiwan to set a precondition that China remove its missiles targeted at Taiwan for negotiations on a peace agreement.
“As is known to all, the ultimate goal of the mainland is peaceful unification, not peaceful separation,” she said. “The peace agreement proposed by the mainland will not be an agreement on unification, but a temporary political arrangement for the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.”
She urged the “independence separatists” and “some DPP [Democratic Progressive Party] members” to refrain from “challenging” and “demonizing” Beijing and “distorting” its goodwill.
She opposed a role for the international community, especially Washington, in cross-strait affairs.
Liu urged the Ma administration not to stall the process, as it would not benefit China and place Taiwan in a less favorable position.
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