Su slams pan-blue politicians for `kowtow' to Beijing

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday lashed out at pan-blue members for preferring to attend events in Beijing rather than staying in Taiwan to review the government budget for this fiscal year, which is stalled in the legislature.

"Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] and People First Party lawmakers don't get down to business and instead go to China with [former KMT chairman] Lien Chan (連戰) ... They looked like elementary students ... Some people said they were kowtowing," Su said, referring to the "Cross-Strait Economic and Trade Forum" held by the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing.

Su said that broadcast TV showed a group of pan-blue members lining up to shake hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).

The pan-blue members were "deferential" to Hu and Jia Qinglin (賈慶林), chairman of China's National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Su said at a Democratic Progressive Party presidential primary campaign event.

When Hu and Jia said that they will not allow the existence of "Taiwan's independence," none of the pan-blues spoke up for Taiwan's right to self-determination, while some even applauded, Su added.

It would be "the most terrible thing" if the KMT were to win next year's presidential election and act as it said at the forum, Su said.

The forum, which concluded yesterday, announced that China would allow Taiwanese to invest in wholly owned shipping and container transport firms, to operate ports and highways, as well as allowing Taiwanese universities to recruit students from China.

Shortly after a declaration was announced in the KMT-CCP forum, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council immediately issued a news release, saying that any topic involving the authority of Taiwan's government should be negotiated by Taiwan's elected officials.

"We urge China to eliminate the political framework and the premise that it imposes on Taiwan," the statement said. "Re-initiating formal, official negotiations is the only right choice to resolve current cross-strait issues."

Additional reporting by Jewel Huang