In light of Chinese military chief Jiang Zemin's (
"While how hardline one's stance is and existing differences continue to be difficulties, an `active' attitude in handling cross-strait affairs is the most crucial element," said former Mainland Affairs Council chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (
Tsai and several top cross-strait policy analysts, many of whom have served as council officials, yesterday grappled with a simple question: What is peace?
"The more you think about it, the more complex it gets," Tsai said.
"Peace is not just self-restraint or the lack of certain actions. Only through positive action can lasting peace be attained," Tsai said during a forum hosted by the Foundation on International and Cross-Strait Studies yesterday.
"I often ask myself if Taiwan is at the stage of establishing peace or maintaining it right now," Tsai said, adding that the current cross-strait situation has been characterized as a "cold peace," a hybrid state reminiscent of the Cold War.
"How long this type of peace can last no one dares say. Military factors could cause changes. Shifts in how people think or in their interests could change the situation," Tsai said, adding that changes in Chinese ties with the US could also cut short the "Cold Peace."
"This type of peace is born of deadlock and impasse and as such is dependent on US interests ... it depends on the accurate interpretation of the intents of each nation, including China's accurate understanding of the US' stance," said Yang Kai-huang (
"The question we need to ask is `How do we manage this peace?' Some are content with this arrangement, but it inherently carries an element of risk, and so there must be some form of risk management," Tsai said, calling for systemic solutions to promote cross-strait exchange.
Despite commonly issued claims of a will to uphold peace, Yang questioned whether it was "too early to be talking about peace-building" given constant provocations and escalation of conflict between the two nations.
He called for a "temporary freezing of conflict," a sort of "experimental goodwill," to precede peace-building.
In a similar vein, former council vice chairman Chen Ming-tong (
"The call for a stable framework is not new. In China's statement issued on May 17, before President Chen's [Shui-bian (陳水扁)] inauguration, the Taiwan Affairs Office calls for the establishment of a framework for cross-strait peace and development. The president also stated the necessity of building a peace and stability framework in his inauguration speech," Chen Ming-tong said, pointing to the consensus on the need for a stable framework.
Former council vice chairman Chang King-yuh (
"If we identify the `one China' principle as the primary point of contention, then we need to deal with it, sit down and talk about it," Tsai said, pointing to the president's inauguration speech as an indication of the government's willingness to discuss the "one China" principle and a possible future political relationship between Taiwan and China under certain terms.
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