Premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday that both sides of the Taiwan Strait can talk about any issues in consultations and dialogue, even the "one China" rhetoric cherished by China, and there will be no bottom line.
The premier was responding to questions by Legislator Cheng Kuo-chung (鄭國忠) of the Democratic Progressive Party in the Legislative Yuan. Cheng asked how the Executive Yuan is going to follow through on President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) call for the resumption of cross-strait dialogue in his Double Ten National Day message.
Chen said he would propose that both sides use the basis of the 1992 meeting in Hong Kong to seek possible ways that are "not necessarily perfect, but accept-able" in preparation for a step forward in the resumption of dialogue and consultations.
The premier said a 1992 meeting in Hong Kong paved the way for the first high-ranking negotiations between China and Taiwan the following year, but that there is no such thing as the "1992 consensus."
The president's words that the Hong Kong meeting could be used as a basis aims to put aside cross-strait disputes on sovereignty and engage in pragmatic exchanges, Yu said, stressing that his words should not be twisted to imply a consensus was reached in 1992.
On cross-strait issues the president touched on in his address, including arms control to avoid conflicts, confidence-building measures through consultations and dialogues, and the establishment of a "code of conduct across the Taiwan Strait," Yu said that the government has "made preparations for cross-strait matters."
"There will be no bottom line for cross-strait consultations, he said, so anything can be discussed, including possible venues and timing.
"The government is extending an olive branch in sincerity, and is hoping to have a positive response from China," Yu said.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
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