President Chen Shui-bian's (
"Gradual unification" refers to treatment of cross-strait relations as an internal affair, including the "gradual opening up" of investment in China and the wearing down of Taiwanese people's vigilance about the threat from China.
"The president's remarks suggested he, after all, had realized that the road to deepening and consolidating `Taiwanese consciousness' is the way to go and continue," said Thomas Hung (
In a speech last Saturday pushing for the second phase of constitutional reform, Chen called for the adoption of a more practical approach to national sovereignty to replace the old concepts dominated by a "greater China consciousness."
Chen then said "it will be impossible for Taiwan to become a normal country enjoying independent sovereignty, freedom and democracy unless it frees itself from this unrealistic political dogma."
In addition, Chen, acknowledging that Taiwan's high-tech industries have increasingly tilted to China, said on Monday in an interview with a local TV station that it is imperative for the government to impose some controls on China-based Taiwanese companies.
The stance stated by the president helped allay many pan-green supporters' anxieties over the DPP administration's possible tilt toward the so-called "gradual unification," said political observers, in view of latest add-on to such worries earlier this month, after an announcement made by Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) concerning cross-strait relations.
While attending a banquet hosted by an association of Taiwanese businesspeople, Hsieh said he had appointed the Taipei Airline Association to negotiate cross-strait cargo charter flights and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council to negotiate expanded exports of agricultural products from Taiwan to China.
"The remarks made by Chen are soothing to the ears of many pan-greens, who otherwise feared the DPP administration might have fallen into the trap of `gradual unification,'" Hung said.
Chen had also helped to ease relations between the president and pro-independence elders, with whom a rather sour relationship had developed in the wake of Chen's consent to the China visit made by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
While some political watchers commented that the bumpy road to reconciliation with the opposition parties was one main reason behind Chen's changes of stance from previous ambiguity to the recent affirmation of pan-green ideology, political commentator and editor-in-chief of Contemporary Magazine Chin Heng-wei (
"Chen's basic stance [in upholding the construction of Taiwan consciousness] has always been the same," Chin said.
"What changed was his strategy, which varied according to short-term goals," he added.
The Chen-Soong meeting, for instance, was the product of such a strategy, Chin said, referring to the meeting between Chen and Soong in February.
A 10-point joint statement was produced following the meeting, in which Chen reiterated that he would not change the country's official name during his term in office. This had subsequently irked many pan-green supporters.
"The aim of the strategy then was hoping to obtain the PFP's cooperation in the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan to support the government's bills," Chin said.
Echoing Chin's remarks, chairman for the World United Formosans for Independence Ng Chiau-tong (
Ng, who resigned from the presidential policy adviser post in March to express his exasperation over the content of the Chen-Soong accord, however did acknowledge that the relations between Chen and pro-independence leaders "has improved" lately.
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