President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) may have secretly discussed his "one country on either side" of the Taiwan Strait speech with his predecessor Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) before delivering the address on Saturday, local media speculated yesterday.
DPP caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (
But Ker stressed that he only discussed election issues and other general issues of Taiwan's future development with Lee. Sensitive issues such as a public referendum on Taiwan's future were not discussed, the reports quoted Ker as saying. The unnamed DPP leaders who met with Chen on Friday also denied having discussed cross-strait issues with him, the reports said.
Meanwhile, local media also quoted a top policymaker as saying that "one country on either side" was not the main point of Chen's speech on Saturday.
The official, who refused to be named, said a public referendum on Taiwan's future was the key issue in Chen's speech. No one in Taiwan would disagree that the country's future should be determined by the people of Taiwan, the official said.
Responding to accusations that Chen has backpedaled on the "five no's" promise he made during his inauguration, the official said Chen had made his promise on the premise that China would have no intention of using military force against Taiwan.
One of the promises Chen made in his inauguration in May 2000 was that he would not push for a public referendum on Taiwan's future.
Chen's speech was also meant to remind Beijing not to push Taiwan's bottom line, especially given that some of China's top military officers have recently reiterated their willingness to launch an attack against Taiwan, the official said.
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