Officials say Chen laid foundations for dialogue

President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) inaugural address did not go so far as to express acceptance of the "one China" principle -- as China had demanded -- but key cross-strait players called the speech a further expression of Taiwan's goodwill.

Taiwan's top negotiator, Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫), chairman of the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation said Chen's remarks were a direct expression of the island's sincerity and goodwill toward China.

"He [Chen] has promised to handle the idea of `one China' properly and I believe he will announce the details of how he will do this in the near future," said Koo.

Koo said both sides of the Taiwan Strait should give the new president time, and the most important thing is to reopen the door of cross-strait dialogue.

"If necessary I would like to visit China again, or even invite Wang Daohan (汪道涵) to visit Taiwan," Koo said. Wang is Koo's counterpart in China and is the head of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait.

Making another appeal to Beijing's leaders, Koo said that "this is not the time for leaders to shout rhetoric at one other, because that only leads to more mistakes."

Former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) also said he felt Chen's remarks were an expression of Taiwan's goodwill.

"For Taiwanese people, Chen's speech maintains our dignity but also creates new hope," Shih said. "For China, I think Beijing's leaders could feel Chen's goodwill. They [Beijing] have to realize that the time of war and military threats has passed," said Shih.

Jeffrey Koo (辜濂松), the nephew of Koo Chen-fu and head of the China Trust Group also was supportive of Chen's comments.

The president has left "plenty of flexibility to further cross-strait relations in the future," Koo said.

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference yesterday, the vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, Lin Chong-pin (林中斌), echoed Chen's comments, appealing to China for patience to understand the new government's goodwill.

"We do not expect Chinese Communist officials to immediately understand the deeper meaning of what Chen has said in his address," Lin said.

As for the issue of direct links, which Chen did not mention in his speech, Lin said: "The inauguration speech only points out the guidelines and general direction of cross-strait relations. All China needs to do is express its goodwill and direct links will definitely be part of the new government's policy."