Taiwanese want to keep status quo, says head of GIO

The people of Taiwan hope to maintain the status quo and reject the "one country, two systems" formula espoused by Beijing, the head of the Government Infor-mation Office (GIO) said in a recent interview published by a Web site affiliated with the Boston Herald.

Arthur Iap (葉國興) answered questions submitted by several readers of Town Online, which is owned by a division of Herald Media, the parent company of the Boston Herald.

In the "international conversation" section of the Web site, Iap said that until China abandons one-party dictatorship and moves toward a free and democratic political system, the people on Taiwan will continue to want to keep their current system of a democratic government and a free economy.

He said that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has repeatedly stated that Taiwan is willing to resume dialogue with China, provided that Beijing does not attach preconditions for such dialogue.

However, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji (朱鎔基) yesterday again ruled out the possibility of a resumption in talks with Taiwan unless the island accepts the "one China" principle.

Iap said that one of the most important tasks of the administration has been to normalize cross-strait relations, pointing out that Taiwan is willing to exchange views with China on a broad range of issues.

"We are willing to be patient in demonstrating our good intentions and establishing cooperative conditions so as to promptly resume consultations between the two sides, with no preconditions," he said.