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Chen says anti-secession legislation risks progress

If China insists on passing its proposed anti-secession bill, the result would be akin to "casting a shadow and causing torrential rains" to fall on recent progress in cross-strait cooperation, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) told Newsweek magazine in an interview published this week.

"Groups in Taiwan have started talking about enacting counter legislation like an anti-annexation law. Is this the result Beijing authorities want to achieve?" Chen said when asked about the impact of Beijing's legislation.

"We might not be able to change Beijing's decision, but we still want to express deep concern," Chen was quoted as saying.

Asked to envision a future in which Taiwan and China were unified, Chen said that it would be possible only if China's political and economic circumstances changed.

"If one day the people of Taiwan choose to unify with China, it must be done [after] their political situations [achieve] complete synergy, in which both sides enjoy democratic elections, multiparty politics, a truly neutral military [and] freedom of speech. Moreover, by then the average income in China should be about that of the people in Taiwan," Chen told Newsweek.

Chen indicated that an interim agreement, previously proposed by former US National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs Kenneth Lieberthal, who served under former US president Bill Clinton, was "worthy of our consideration."

"Any sort of peace agreement -- long term, short term, midterm -- we're willing to discuss and talk about," Chen said.

Lieberthal's proposal would maintain the cross-strait status quo for 20 to 30 years.

"Thirty years is just a proposed time frame. If by then China has not achieved a mature democracy, we could delay it to 50 or 100 years. Why not?" Chen said.

Chen also answered questions regarding his recent meeting with People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), saying that "the meeting has proven that anything is possible, [even] reconciliation between the ruling party and opposition."

Chen said that the pledges he issued in the joint agreement he signed with Soong were a reiteration of his promises.

"The other side of the strait has kept trying to twist my words and mislead the international community. They claim I have a timetable for independence and that I intend to change the national moniker. So I took the opportunity yesterday to reiterate my promises," he said.
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