Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma, who is also mayor of Taipei, said however that he supports the idea of maintaining the cross-strait "status quo."
Ma made the remarks at a conference held by the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York-based think tank.
During the conference, Ma was invited by the host, US international relations scholar Jerome Cohen, to answer questions on issues concerning Taiwan and cross-strait relations.
Ma said that "practically, Taiwan is independent," and that "no country in the world has to announce its independence twice."
As to the "one China" concept proposed by Beijing, Ma said that he believed "the one China is the Republic of China."
Mentioning an agreement allegedly reached by the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in 1992 on the definition of "one China," namely "one China to be interpreted respectively by each sides," Ma said it was the agreement that contributed to the first dialogue between the two sides in more than four decades.
He said he believed that the two sides could resume their talks under a similar model and that Taiwan had the right to state its own definition of "one China."
Answering questions about cross-strait economic and trade development and economic integration in the region, Ma said Taiwan should guard against being marginalized as other countries in the region had been sparing no effort in the promotion of regional economic integration and signing bilateral free trade agreements.
Ma noted that while international business groups had shown an aggressive attitude in making inroads into the China market, Taiwanese businesses had been restricted by the government's existing policy.
However, Ma said he believed cross-strait trade and economic relations would develop and become closer in the future.
In reaction, DPP spokesman Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said in Taipei yesterday that Ma's remarks were disappointing because he had failed to condemn China's "Anti-Secession" Law and to denounce the missile threat against Taiwan.
"Ma, chairman of Taiwan's largest opposition party, should take the opportunity to speak out on the fact that Taiwan is a sovereign state and does not belong to China. However, Ma not only failed to do so, but also used the opportunity to score points against the Taiwanese government, which is disappointing," Tsai said.
Tsai also said that by claiming that the so-called "one China" was the Republic of China, rather than the People's Republic of China, Ma deceived himself, the Taiwanese public and the US.
"Ma also hurt the nation by claiming that `the power of pro-independence voices in Taiwan had died away,'" Tsai said, urging Ma to voice mainstream public opinion during the rest of his US visit.
Additional reporting by Jewel Huang
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