MAC advised to extend another olive branch

Members of a consultative committee to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) suggested yesterday that, in order to end the deadlock in cross-strait relations, the DPP could consider sending official congratulations to China in September on the occasion of the elections at the Chinese Communist Party's 16th National Congress.

"This would be an active way to express Taiwan's goodwill," said Jan Jyh-horng (詹志宏), director of the MAC's department of Research and Planning, who recounted the members' opinions during a press conference yesterday.

The committee members also said that using the WTO framework to establish trust between the two sides would be another means of stabilizing cross-strait relations.

During the meeting, members of the committee exchanged observations and analysis on cross-strait affairs.

According to Jan, committee members who have visited China recently said that China's Taiwan policy had not changed significantly.

But they said that a statement by the deputy director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhou Mingwei (周明偉), was noteworthy.

As he visited the US last week, Zhou said that "DPP moderates" would be welcome to visit China as long as they had "appropriate titles," which he later explained to mean "titles that are not those of official Taiwan government posts."

This was interpreted by committee members as a positive sign, as Chinese officials have never before actively urged interaction with DPP.

But, the members said, Zhou has "not always been consistent in his opinions," so his statements might need further observation.

Jan said that a statement expected from Chinese Deputy Premier Qian Qichen (錢其琛) on Jan. 30, the seventh anniversary of the release of Chinese President Jiang Zemin's "Eight Points" (江八點) will be worthy of close scrutiny.

Jiang's eight points were released at Chinese New Year in 1995. In them, Jiang not only stressed opposition to independence, separatism and the promotion of "one-China, one Taiwan," but also noted China's determination not to renounce the option to use force against Taiwan.

Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush's forthcoming visit to China next month will also provide a good indication of how Sino-US relations will affect Taiwan's interests, according to Jan.

Members suggested that one of the most important jobs for the MAC after the Cabinet reshuffle will be to communicate with new Cabinet members on cross-strait issues.

The consulting members to the MAC include academics and experts in mainland affairs. Shaw Chong-hai (邵宗海), National Chengchi University social science professor, Bau Tzong-ho (包宗和), National Taiwan University political science professor, and DPP lawmaker Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) were among them.