Koo eyed as Chen's APEC proxy

Taiwan may consider sending its top envoy to China, Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫), to APEC in October to try and end a deadlock in cross-strait relations, analysts said yesterday.

Koo, who has negotiated cross-strait affairs on Taiwan's behalf, emerged as the best choice to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference later this year, Lin Cheng-Yi (林正義), a research fellow at Academia Sinica, said during a seminar held by Taiwan Research Institute, a local think tank.

"If Koo is allowed to make the trip, he can meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Daohan (汪道涵), thus ending the state of no contact between the two sides," said Lin, dubbing the upcoming form a great opportunity to mend cross-strait relations.

China shut down dialogue with Taiwan in July 1999 after then president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said that cross-strait ties were "state-to-state" in nature.

It has largely ignored the DPP government, suspicious of the pro-independence clause enshrined in the platform of the ruling party.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has expressed a strong desire to attend the meeting himself and talk with Chinese leader Jiang Zemin (江澤民) on any issue, including the direct links for which Beijing has pushed.

Insisting Taiwan can only send a Cabinet minister or business leader to the APEC forum, China has turned down Chen's offer.

"Koo, chairman of the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), appears to be an ideal candidate," Lin said, urging the government to work hard to materialize his proposal.

However, determined to isolate the Chen administration, Beijing is unlikely to approve a visa for Koo's visit.

Koo reiterated a wish in April to travel to China but noted that no contact may take place between the two sides before their entry into the WTO.

No Taiwan president has ever attended a leadership meeting of the APEC, whose members also include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, the United States, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Australia.

Earlier, US President George W. Bush signaled his willingness to attend the meeting as part of an effort to bolster US interests in the region.

China will to utilize the occasion to mend frayed ties with the US, Lin predicted, adding that Chen should name a proper ambassador to help Taiwan share the limelight.

Koo maintains cozy relations with several Chinese officials. In 1998, he led a Taiwan delegation to Shanghai to thaw cross-strait tensions.

His SEF held rounds of talks with China's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait in the last decade that yielded several pacts to address disputes arising from private exchanges.

As a leading businessman, Koo had previously attended the APEC summit on president Lee's behalf.