DPP gives airing to Lien's `cross-strait confederation' plan

The ruling DPP yesterday debated behind closed doors the pros and cons of KMT Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) proposed "cross-strait confederation."

The exercise -- which occurs routinely on matters of national importance -- comes just two days after the KMT's Central Advisory Council suggested that the confederation proposal be incorporated into the party's platform.

No formal conclusions were made during the DPP's debate yesterday.

DPP legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) argued on behalf of the pro-confederation team. Shen said that pro-independence and pro-unification advocates have expressed opposition to the confederation proposal which, he said, may mean that it wasn't "a bad idea" and may attract middle-of-the-road voters.

Also, though the idea varies slightly from Lee's special state-to-state relations dictum, it may actually help Taiwan's major political parties better define their cross-strait stances and seek common ground on major issues while reserving differences on minor ones, he added.

Shen said attacking Lien's proposal was bad electoral strategy.

Although it wasn't clear yesterday who made the argument, some DPP members said that the cross-strait confederation idea was essentially equal to the idea that relations between China and Taiwan are "special state-to-state" in nature.

Lien's confederation assumes that its participants are sovereign entities -- which is why China has opposed the concept.

In addition, Lien's proposal seems to encompass ideas put forth by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) during his New Year address, in which he proposed future political integration.

Speaking against the proposal, DPP lawmaker Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) argued that it was a complex proposal with a deceptively simple title and would not be an easy political ideal to sell during the forthcoming legislative elections.

He said that in order to consolidate a cross-strait confederation, concessions on the nation's sovereignty would have to be made which might require seeking the people's consent through a plebiscite or revising the Constitution.

Secondly, if improving ties between China and Taiwan were to affect those between Taiwan and other countries, Taiwan's international relations might be thrown into disorder, Chen added. Finally, he said that confederation would not be beneficial to economic integration across the Strait.

Agreeing with Chen's view, Yen Ching-fu (顏錦福) said that Lien's idea was wishful thinking because China would not accept it.

"It's as good as a surrender [to China]. If the KMT proposes it during elections, they will lose badly," Yen told reporters yesterday morning.

Lawrence Gao (高志鵬), a member of the party's central standing committee, yesterday also said that the confederation proposal amounted to an early announcement of Taiwan's cross-strait bottom line, which would jeopardize any future cross-strait negotiations.