All eyes on Chen over chairmanship of NUC

Cross-strait relations have always been a thorny political issue for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) although the "olive branches" he has extended to China since his inauguration may so far have taken out some of the sting.

The recent controversy over whether he will take up the chairmanship of the National Unification Council (NUC, 國統會) has also become a dilemma for Chen, especially among his own party, the DPP.

"According to regulations, Chen should chair the NUC, but there is strong opposition within the DPP to his having a connection with the council," Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), senior advisor to the president and former DPP chairman, said.

"If he chairs the NUC, he will violate the party's anti-unification principles and will have to face disciplinary measures, according to the DPP's Central Review Committee (CRC, 中評會)," Yao said, adding that he spoke for the majority of the DPP's hardline supporters.

What kind of punishment Chen would be dealt is unclear.

According to the DPP's party platform, "his party membership will be suspended and he will not be allowed to participate in any party activities," said DPP Central Executive Committee member Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁).

"However, as Chen proclaimed earlier, as the `president of the all the people' (全民總統), he would stop attending DPP activities. Because of this, I don't believe punishment will have any meaning."

The NUC, founded in 1990 during KMT rule, was Taiwan's top advisory body on the crucial question of unification. The council further approved in 1991 the Guidelines for National Unification (國家統一綱領), which became the highest directives governing Taiwan's policy toward China.

Former DPP Chairman Huang Hsin-chien (黃信介) and Chen himself were once invited to join the council, but both sternly rejected the offer to underscore the DPP's stance against its existence.

"We should freeze the NUC. That means that there should be no more appointments for NUC members, and it should be made functionless," Yao said.

But opinions within the party have been divided since Chen said in his inauguration speech that the guidelines and the council itself would not be abolished.

"It is okay if Chen accepts the chairmanship, but he will have to come up with a plan for reshuffling the NUC," Chen Chi-mai said.

Chen Chi-mai suggested that the president recruit representatives from political parties or the private sector to draw up a blueprint for long-term strategic goals such as the "future one China" policy, but leave issues of national unification or independence untouched.

Chen has suggested the cross-party task force, headed by the president of Academia Sinica, Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), work on short-term administrative negotiations with China such as the "three links" (三通) issue, and reach a domestic consensus to set up the basic tone of cross-strait relations.

National Taiwan University's professor of politics Bau Tzong-ho (包宗和), however, urged Chen Shui-bian to chair the NUC himself on the grounds that his refusal may provoke China, which sees Taiwan's acceptance of its "one China" policy as a precondition for resuming cross-strait talks.

"President Chen bears the stereotype of a `pro-independence' supporter in China's eyes. If he refuses to chair the NUC or undertakes a structural reshuffle of the council, it may break down the cross-strait stability achieved thus far," Bau said, adding that the goodwill extended from the president to China was not enough to make a breakthrough on the long-stalled cross-strait impasse.