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`Window of opportunity' for talks: Chen

"I am willing -- under situations where there is no premise or condition -- to meet with Hu, sit down together, shake hands, reconcile and have dialogue in a third country."

President Chen Shui-bian

This year and next are the "windows of opportunity" in cross-strait relations, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday.

"It is regrettable that Beijing missed the `window of opportunity' in 2000," Chen said.

"I believe this year and next year will present the other `windows of opportunity,' but if they are missed, we might need to wait till 2008 or even after 2010," he said.

Chen made the remarks yesterday while meeting with visiting New York Times chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and his wife at the Taipei Guest House.

Noting that the proposed meeting between him and Chinese President Hu Jin-tao (胡錦濤) will only be possible when both sides agree not to set any pre-conditions for such a meeting, Chen said: "I am willing -- under a situation where there is no premise or condition -- to meet with Hu, sit down together, shake hands, reconcile and have discussions in a third country."

Chen said he is very much looking forward to the day when, under the principles of democracy, peace and equality, leaders from both sides of the Taiwan Strait will have the opportunity to reconcile their differences.

"I hope the first time can be in a third country. Maybe the US would be the best place to hold such a meeting," Chen said.

The president also said he would not expect a conclusion to be reached after only one meeting with Hu, and subsequent meetings would be needed.

He did not put a time frame on the meetings, but said if reconciliation wasn't possible within a year, negotiations over a period of several years would be appropriate.

Meanwhile, a Presidential Office official yesterday said that Chen's desire to attend the APEC leaders' summit has nothing to do with meeting with Hu.

"It has been the Presidential Office's usual position to have the president attend the APEC leaders' summit in person," said Presidential Office Deputy Director Chuo Chun-ying (卓春英).

"That [attending the APEC meeting] and a Chen-Hu meeting are two different matters," he said.

Chuo made the remarks in response to a local Chinese-language newspaper report which said that the president hopes to meet with his Chinese counterpart during this year's APEC summit.

South Korea is host country for this year's APEC meetings, which will take place in November in Busan -- the country's second largest city and its biggest trading port.

The newspaper speculated that Chen's "third country" proposal for a meeting refers to the upcoming APEC summit.

The paper quoted Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), who has represented Taiwan at previous APEC events, as saying that he thinks Chen should go to the upcoming summit and "discuss cross-strait issues with Hu."

"If President Chen is able to attend the APEC summit, he would be able to interact with his counterparts from all APEC member countries, not just with the top leader from any specific country," Cho said yesterday.

Twenty-one APEC countries are expected to take part in the meeting scheduled for Nov. 18 and 19 , which will be attended by leaders such as US President George W. Bush and Hu.

Since Taiwan and China joined APEC in 1991, Beijing has blocked Taiwan's presidents and foreign ministers from attending the annual forums.

As a result, the president must always appoint an envoy to go on his behalf.

When asked by the press for comments on the matter yesterday, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), said that she thinks it is appropriate for both Chen and Hu to meet a place outside of Taiwan.

"It would be great" if both Chen and Hu could meet at the APEC leaders' summit, she said.
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