President Chen Shui-bian (
"Instead of mediating between the DPP and CCP, it would be a better idea for Ma to mediate between the DPP and his own party," Chen said. "Instead of holding a KMT-CCP forum, it would be better to push a KMT-DPP forum to talk about cooperation between the two parties."
Chen made the remarks while meeting a delegation of UK parliamentarians at the Presidential Office yesterday morning.
Chen said it would be impossible for the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to have a government-to-government dialogue or negotiations if the ruling and opposition parties are divided and the Tai-wanese cannot reach a consensus on the cross-strait issue.
If Ma insists on forging ahead with his plan, Chen said that it would be tantamount to "climbing trees to catch fish."
Even if Ma manages to pull some strings before the time is right, the DPP and CCP "will never click," he said.
Ma said on Tuesday that he was willing to mediate between the DPP and CCP. He also said that reconciliation between the KMT and the DPP is far more important than cooperation between the KMT and the CCP.
While Ma's proposal drew criticism from the DPP and from within his own party, Chen said he would like to look at it positively.
Chen said he agreed with Ma that rapprochement between the ruling and opposition parties was more important than cooperation between the KMT and CCP, adding that he welcomed Ma's "change of course" on cross-strait policy.
"I'm glad that Chairman Ma is willing to push for reconciliation between the ruling and opposition parties, because I believe that is what most Taiwanese wish to see," he said.
When former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
Both sides of the Taiwan Strait must reconcile and talk, but such negotiations must be conducted by the government, rather than a political party, Chen added.
Cross-strait negotiations must be conducted under four princi-ples of sovereignty, democracy, peace and equality, Chen said.
Any cross-strait disputes or dif-ferences must be resolved peacefully rather than through military means, he said, adding that equality means both sides must engage in government-to-government dialogue and negotiations based on the "consensus" reached in a 1992 Hong Kong meeting.
The Chen administration has previously adamantly denied the existence of a "1992 consensus."
When asked by the press later about the president's remarks, the Presidential Office said there had been no change of cross-strait policy.
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