China still has "some tricks" it might play to disrupt Taiwan's accession to the WTO, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday.
In an interview with TTV yesterday, Chen said that although he expected Taiwan to complete its WTO entry, the island would not "lower its guard," given its ongoing rift with China.
"According to information obtained so far, China still has certain tricks to make things difficult for us" during the WTO ministerial meeting being held in Qatar, Chen said.
The government has considered all eventualities and received reassurances from major WTO members, he said.
"Taiwan has prepared for the best and worst scenarios and has reached certain understandings with the US and the EU," Chen said.
Taiwan's accession to the WTO is scheduled to be completed today.
Taipei's delegation to the WTO meeting has met with WTO kingpins such as the US and the EU during the past few days, seeking their support in the event of meddling by Beijing.
Chen denounced China's moves to degrade Taiwan in the country's decade-long bid for WTO membership as petty, saying that moves to politicize Taiwan's WTO accession would not be constructive.
On the interaction between Beijing and Taipei under the umbrella of the WTO, Chen said cross-strait dialogue would be necessary to forge a consensus on issues of mutual concern, such as establishing direct links and other economic issues.
Chen also stressed the role of the governments in forging a consensus, saying communication through non-governmental sectors could not guarantee solutions to every issue.
For example, Taiwan's opening to tourists from China would involve thorny issues such as customs control and quarantine inspection, Chen said.
"Without the government's participation, the opening up would become impossible, as it could lapse into a state of anarchy," he said.
China has refused to begin negotiations with Taiwan on issues such as direct links -- even under the WTO -- saying Taiwan's acceptance of the so-called "one China" principle is the precondition for such talks.
On the controversy over the so-called "1992 consensus," Chen reiterated his denial of its existence.
Chen said that Shi Hwei-yow (許惠祐), secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), the semi-official agency that represents Taiwan in cross-strait negotiations, told him the term was "invented" by a former member of the KMT government.
Commentators believe the official he was referring to was Su Chi (
Since the "1992 consensus" did not exist, it would "impose a difficult task on" him if he were forced to admit its existence, Chen said. He would admit the existence of cross-strait talks in 1992, but nothing more, he said.
The talks in 1992 between the SEF and China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) paved the way for the landmark talks between Taiwan's chief negotiator, Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫), and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Daohan (汪道涵), in Singapore in 1993.
Beijing suspended talks with Taipei in July 1999 after then-president Lee Teng-hui (
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