KMT Vice Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday urged Beijing not to pressure Taiwan too hard since President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has on many occasions shown goodwill toward China.
Wu made the appeal in a radio program on the eve of his departure for an 11-day visit to China.
Wu said Beijing should not continue to reject dialogue with Taiwan since President Chen has repeatedly held out olive branches to China. But at the same time, Wu urged Chen to not cling to the DPP's pro-independence ideology any more and clarify his stance on the "1992 consensus" to facilitate resumption of long-stalled dialogue across the Taiwan Strait.
Noting that Chen's vague attitude toward the "1992 consensus" is one of the reasons for the prolonged cross-strait deadlock, Wu said Chen, should use his wisdom to seek a way out.
Wu agrees with Chen
Wu, who served as Taipei mayor, interior minister and Presidential Office secretary-general under the previous KMT government, further said he disagrees with Chen's delay in convening meetings of the National Unification Council (NUC) to forge a national consensus on the development of cross-strait relations.
The council was founded by former president Lee Teng-hui (
However, he has placed little emphasis on the body because the opening of meetings for the council would be an outright symbol that his government accepted the notion of unification. He has instead set up a new advisory body on cross-strait ties to build a national consensus on the unification question.
Return to `1992 consensus'
Wu said that he believed the "1992 consensus" was a basis for the historic 1993 "Koo-Wang" meeting and a series of follow-up cross-strait consultations between 1993 and 1995.
If Chen drags his feet on articulating his attitude toward the "1992 consensus," Wu said, no breakthrough to the lingering cross-strait stalemate will be in sight.
Chen has said numerous times that the 1992 consensus was an agreement to disagree about the meaning of "one China," or "one China" with both sides having their own interpretation.
The president and his advisory task force have stressed the spirit of the 1992 more than the agreement, because in its interpretation of the said consensus, there was never a true consensus.
Accompanied by several local Hakka politicians, Wu will leave for China tomorrow to attend a world Hakka cultural meeting to be held in Xiamen.
Wu will be the highest-level KMT official to visit China. Chinese authorities reportedly attach great importance to Wu's visit. In addition to Xiamen, Wu will also travel to other Chinese cities, including Nanjing, Shanghai and Beijing.
During his stay, Wu is expected to meet with senior Chinese officials, including President Jiang Zemin (
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