Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) confirmed yesterday that he had a closed-door meeting with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on Thursday night, discussing the future operation of the president's advisory group on cross-strait relations (兩岸跨黨派小組).
"As the group's head, I frequently exchange views with the president. However, I can't speak for him [on issues concerning the group's operations], but I've urged him to conduct inter-party negotiations as soon as possible in order to forge a consensus on national affairs and cross-strait issues," Lee told reporters yesterday morning after attending a symposium on unemployment.
The chairman of the Public Television Service Wu Feng-shan (吳豐山) also attended the meeting.
Lee refused to further reveal details about the meeting and would not comment on the question of whether the group would be dismissed. He did say they discussed the operation of the National Unification Council (NUC, 國統會) and the "no haste, be patient" (戒急用忍) policy.
"I believe that the president will soon take the initiative in holding inter-party negotiations," Lee added.
Since the cross-strait advisory group stopped meeting last December, Lee's position has come into question.
Some group members, including National Policy Advisor to the President Michael Hsieh (蕭新煌), even expected the group's dismissal sooner or later since the president hasn't shown signs of calling new meetings of the group.
Additionally, the administration has not acted on a consensus on the "one China" principle reached by the group last November, which included the "three acknowledgements (三個認知)" and "four suggestions (四個建議)."
It has therefore been widely speculated that Lee would resign from his position as the group's chair, pressuring Chen to head and convene the NUC's meetings as soon as possible.
Lee yesterday flatly denied he would take such a move, reiterating that it would be up to the president to make that decision.
According to convention, the president should take the position of the body's chairman after assuming power, but Chen has shown reluctance to do so since it is a pro-unification body.
The three acknowledgements refer to the past, present and future "one China." The four suggestions include that the ROC Constitution should be respected, the "one China" issue should be addressed, the NUC should convene and the value of democracy should be shared by both sides.
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