Chang, Lu upbeat on China ties

In the face of China's rejection of Taiwan's offers to come back to the cross-strait negotiating table, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday tried again to reach out to China with an olive branch.

"[We] hope both sides of the Strait can put aside our disagreement and return to the rational and institutional channels of dialogue. [Taiwan's] government will continuously seek to settle the cross-strait dispute with sincerity, goodwill and patience," Chang said after attending the opening ceremony of yesterday's info-month exhibition (資訊月展覽), adding that the consensus reached by the President's Advisory Group on Cross Strait Relations was not easy to attain in Taiwan's diversified society.

Lu, stressing the importance of democracy and public opinion, also asked China to cease its hostility toward Taiwan. "After we've expressed so much sincerity and goodwill, China should not have any misunderstanding [about Taiwan]," Lu said at the same ceremony.

Both Chang and Lu made the remarks in response to comments by the spokesman of China's Taiwan Affairs Office Zhang Mingqing (張銘清), who on Thursday lashed out at Taiwan's refusal to accept its "one China" principle, saying the conclusions of the president's advisory group were "neither fish nor fowl."

Observers, however, advised Taiwan's government to turn a deaf ear to Zhang's remarks.

"[Zhang's remarks] only served to satisfy the demands of the KMT which hopes that China can get tougher on Chen's administration," said Ruan Ming (阮銘), a visiting professor at Tamkang University and former special assistant to Chinese Communist Party Secretary-General Hu Yaobang (胡耀邦).

Ruan added that, in his view, China had no immediate intention of raising cross-strait tensions. Therefore, he believed the important message that Zhang tried to deliver was that "some KMT members share the same view with China [on cross-strait policies]" since Zhang explicitly said so during Thursday's press conference.

Ruan said that he believed Zhang was referring to KMT officials Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) and Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭), members of the KMT delegation which just returned to Taiwan from trips to China.

Three DPP representatives in the president's advisory group, moreover, said Zhang's words not only hurt the feeling of Taiwan's people, but also endangered the development of cross-strait relations.

"China's ignoring the wishes of [Taiwan's] people has fully exposed its hegemonic nature," DPP Legislator Trong Chai (蔡同榮) said.

Lin Cho-shui (林濁水), furthermore, added that China's insistence on the "one China" principle was not accepted in the international community and, therefore, he worried that China's tough act would pose a threat to the peace and stability in eastern Asia.

Sheng Fu-hsiung (沈富雄), however, said sarcastically that he was not upset by what Zhang had said. "Zhang's criticism is as cold as that of the opposition alliance and some pro-unification activists domestically," Sheng said. He therefore urged the opposition parties to put an end to political infighting for the sake of national unity.