The government's top official in charge of overseas Chinese affairs said Sunday that even if US-based Chinese and Taiwanese oppose Taiwan independence, it was not in their best interests to support the Chinese communists.
Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission Chairman Chang Fu-mei (張富美), who traveled from Taipei to Washington to address the annual convention of the Federation of Chinese Organizations of America, appealed to all participants to "be precisely clear that they will not cling to China simply because they don't buy the notion of Taiwan independence."
In response to some participants' questions about President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) recent statement that Taiwan and China are "one country on each side" of the Taiwan Strait, Chang reiterated that the remarks were not meant to advocate independence.
She said that the ROC government on Taiwan, now under the DPP, has never excluded the option of peaceful unification with China.
Nearly 100 people took part in the two-day convention, which opened Saturday. The convention has been a routine gathering for members of various overseas Chinese clans and benevolence organizations from all across the US.
At the final session, the convention reached a resolution to "eagerly call for a `win-win' unification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait."
Chang said in a private conversation after the convention that it is unacceptable to her to hear some participants call for "immediate" unification of Taiwan and China, pointing out that it is unrealistic particularly when China is still far behind in democratization, freedoms and human- rights protection.
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