President meets scholars, urges China to start talks

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) reiterated yesterday in a meeting with the delegates of a non-partisan overseas Chinese group that "one China" is an issue that can be discussed in the future with China.

However, Chen said that "one China" should not be a precondition for talks until such time as Taipei and Beijing have reached a mutually acceptable meaning for the term through "wisdom and creativity."

Chen told the visiting members of the "Committee of 100," headed by its Vice President Fu Lu-jen (傅履仁) and including world-renowned luminaries such as AIDS treatment expert David Ho, that "one China" was originally not a problem according to the Republic of China Constitution.

The problem, he went on, is that the so-called "one China" principle cherished by Beijing "makes the Republic of China vanish." Therefore, as a guardian of ROC sovereignty, dignity and security, he cannot accept the principle.

The president said that the government will continue to push for normalized relations between Taipei and Beijing, and to look forward to the moment when the leaders from both sides meet and shake hands.

In related news, Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that his government is willing to play a leading role in promoting city-to-city cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

"I think if each major city in Taiwan can choose a suitable city in China for bilateral exchanges on environmental protection, traffic management, crime suppression, urban development and other non-political issues, just like Taipei and Shanghai, both sides will benefit and cross-strait relations also will improve gradually," Ma said while meeting with a delegation of Asian-Americans from the "Committee of 100."

The New York-based committee is a non-partisan, non-political association of ethnic-Chinese celebrities aimed at helping bridge cultural and institutional gaps between Americans and Asians. Its founding members include architect I.M. Pei (貝聿銘), cellist Yo Yo Ma (馬友友) and Tien Chang-lin (田長霖), a former chancellor at the University of California at Berkeley.

Ma told his guests that although he looks forward to visiting China to woo investors, he must wait until after the Taiwan government formally lifts the ban on visits by elected government officials.

"I feel a bit anxious over the phenomenon that mayors from Chinese cities and even the governors of provincial governments have swarmed to visit Taiwan to attract investors," Ma said, adding that he hopes the government will ease the cross-strait travel restrictions on mayors and county magistrates as early as possible.

He said the Shanghai City government has tentatively agreed to send representatives to attend the third Taipei-Hong Kong city forum to be held in Taipei early next year.

"We hope that a formal three-way Taipei-Hong Kong-Shanghai forum can be held on a regular basis in the not-too-distant future," Ma said.

Saying that cross-strait relations are now very weak and vulnerable, Ma urged each side to respond positively to any goodwill gesture from the other side and to refrain from making provocative speeches to hurt the feelings of others.

Turning to political developments in the wake of the Dec. 1 legislative elections, Ma said the opposition KMT's stunning electoral defeat augured an urgent need for the party to reinvent itself in order to win back voter support.