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Pro-unification advocates urge DPP to compromise

Pro-unification academics yesterday called on the DPP administration to accept the "1992 consensus" and expedite cooperation with China following both sides' accession to the WTO.

Government officials, however, said that the Chen administration will not accept a "one China" policy and asked the public to be patient with the development of cross-strait relations.

"Cross-strait problems cannot be solved overnight, but overall I'm optimistic that cross-strait problems will be solved under the WTO framework," said John Deng (鄧振中), vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council.

The KMT defines the "1992 consensus" as an understanding reached by China and Taiwan in 1992, under which both sides maintained different interpretations toward the definition of "one China" and agreed not to challenge each other's interpretation.

The Chen administration, however, has refused to recognize "one China" under the framework of the "1992 consensus," saying that agreeing to the position would be tantamount to eliminating Taiwan.

Pan Hsi-tang (潘錫堂), a political science professor at Tamkang University, said that both sides should take advantage of their accession to the world trade body to settle cross-strait disagreements.

"It's a golden opportunity for both sides to peacefully solve the long-standing political and military standoff," Pan said. "Cross-strait relations will definitely improve after economic issues are settled."

Pan made the remark at a forum held at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall yesterday morning. He was one of nine panel guests sharing their views at the forum organized to discuss cross-strait relations after accession to the WTO.

The event was organized by the Cross Strait Culture Exchange Association (中國海峽兩岸學術文化交流協會) and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.

Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉), a business administration professor at Chung Yuan Christian University, said that neither side should expect to solve cross-strait problems at the WTO.

"China and Taiwan should concentrate on integrating with the 143 other WTO members and gaining membership to other international trade organizations," he said.

His view was echoed by Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀), director of Policy Research Center of the People First Party.

"When both sides applied to the organization some 10 years ago, it was neither side's intention to solve cross-strait problems there," Chang said.

Director of the KMT's Mainland Affairs Division, Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭), said that he is worried that both sides' accession to the WTO might worsen political conflicts across the Taiwan Strait although it may alleviate some tension at the same time.

"Cross-strait interaction ceased since China unilaterally shut down communication. Accession to the WTO may enhance communication with China. However, whether it can genuinely help relax cross-strait relations is still worth observing," he said.

Yen Wan-chin (顏萬進), deputy secretary-general of the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (海基會), said that there is no rush to resume dialogues with China because both sides are currently preoccupied with domestic problems of their own.

"Since the DPP came to power, both sides needed time to figure out a way to interact with each other as well as to take care of their own domestic problems," he said.

Yen added that although he agreed that resumption of talks might alleviate cross-strait tensions, it does not necessarily mean that cross-strait relations would intensify if talks don't take place.
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