Taipei Times: The president has instructed the National Security Council to study the possibility of scrapping the National Unification Council and unification guidelines, with the hope of hammering out a solution that "takes into consideration both legal and political aspects" by the end of the month. Do you think scrapping the council and guidelines is legally and politically feasible?
Wu Li-pei (
Some are worried that China might launch a military assault against Taiwan when the unification council and guidelines are abolished. My view is that the abolishment of the nominal agency and guidelines is not [intended as a means to] declare independence, but to offer more options to the people rather than just unification with China.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
It is true that the US government has expressed some concern over the issue, but it is not something that can't be resolved by mutual communication. During my US trip, I never sensed or received any concrete message from US officials that US President George W. Bush is upset by President Chen [Shui-bian's (
TT: Exactly what was the US government's reaction and what did you tell them?
Wu: I told them that instead of feeling surprised bu President Chen's remarks, the US government must make known its stance more clearly and adopt a more pro-active approach to let the people of Taiwan feel more at ease.
TT: What do you mean by taking a "more pro-active approach?"
Wu: The status quo across the Taiwan Strait is something that cannot be easily defined because it changes all the time, almost on a daily basis. Instead of looking at it superficially, the US government must take into account the military imbalance across the Taiwan Strait as China continues to fortify its military might.
The US government must also notice that cross-strait tension heightened dramatically when China passed the "Anti-Secession" Law and stepped up its effort to pressure China-based Taiwanese businesspeople to urge the Taiwanese government to unify with China.
Compounding this problem were the visits [to China] conducted by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has made it clear that his party's ultimate goal is to unify with China. The US government should worry about the KMT's unilateral ambitions rather than doubting or chastising the DPP administration's intent to let the people of Taiwan decide the country's future.
President Chen's remark was made to counter Ma's eventual unification theory. The US government should feel grateful that the president plans to scrap the unification council and guidelines, because it helps maintain the status quo in cross-strait relations, while the advantage is gradually shifting toward China.
When I say the US government can take a "more pro-active approach," I mean that there are a lot of things they can do, including signing a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan, because that would be to the advantage of the two countries.
For the US, Taiwan-based US firms would be able to form joint ventures with Taiwanese companies to help them tap into Asian markets and help them combat [violations of] intellectual property rights (IPR).
For us, it would help raise our international profile and status if the US government signed such a bilateral treaty. Other countries might follow suit [with similar trade agreements] soon after.
Some might argue that the US government does not necessarily need to sign an FTA with Taiwan to safeguard IPR. But my argument is this: why do Taiwanese firms want to help the Americans combat piracy if there is no incentive?
TT: What do you think of the "two P's and three Cs" cross-strait theory proposed by KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou in the UK? (The "two P's" refers to the ultimate goals of peace and prosperity, and the "three C's" refers to cross-strait relations that will evolve from confrontation to conciliation and then cooperation.)
Wu: While peace and prosperity are what the DPP administration and people of Taiwan want, Ma's theory sounds more like wishful thinking than a concrete overture. What I'm more curious to know is how to achieve the ultimate goal and how to make China stop treating us like an enemy and suppressing our international, economic and political space.
I don't think anyone would like the idea of achieving peace by surrendering to China and negotiating under the premise of "one China."
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