The Cabinet yesterday said there is still a distinct possibility that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
The Cabinet has cautioned Lien to respect the law ever since the KMT announced that he will meet with Hu in Beijing. It has been rumored that Lien will sign a peace agreement with Hu on a "party to party" basis between the KMT and Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It's been suggested that because such an agreement would not be on a government-to-government basis, there would be no legal problem for Lien when he returns.
The KMT hasn't confirmed those reports. But the Cabinet said that a "party-to-party" agreement is still a no-no, because the CCP is the only legal political party in China and also represents the country. If Lien signs any agreement with Hu, he will violate Article 113 of the Criminal Code.
"I heard that he [Lien] will try to persuade Hu to withdraw the 700 missiles aimed at Taiwan," said Cabinet Spokesman Cho Jung-tai (
But Cho stressed that the nation's law does cover Lien's conduct. "Every Taiwanese citizen should follow our own laws. There is no exception."
While the president said that he wants to meet Lien before his trip to China, Cho said that Premier Frank Hsieh (
Meanwhile, President Chen Shui-bian (
"The `1992 Consensus' is a term created by former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in April 2000," Chen said. "However, the Chinese government has taken advantage of it for its own propaganda."
Chen made the remark yesterday while giving a speech to local Rotary club members.
Chen quoted the late Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Koo Chen-fu's (
During those talks in Hong Kong, Taiwan's representatives proposed the idea of "one China, with each side having its own interpretation" -- a concept that was accepted by China's representatives. The 1992 talks therefore may have helped both sides understand each other better, but hardly led to an agreement.
"Today, China's `1992 Consensus' actually means `one China, two policies,'" Chen said. "It also means that they do not see Taiwan as an independent country. This is a humiliation to our country."
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