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Ma promises to bring cross-strait peace

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) met Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Institute in Taiwan Raymond Burghardt yesterday, promising to bring peace across the Taiwan Strait if elected.

While discussing US-Taiwan relations and the KMT's cross-strait policies during the one-hour meeting, Burghardt expressed concerns about the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) referendum campaign aimed at promoting the nation's participation in the UN under the name "Taiwan."

"Burghardt was worried that the referendum may have a negative impact on Taiwan's international space," KMT Legislator Su Chi (蘇起), who participated in the meeting, said yesterday.

Burghardt said on Friday that while the US does not support Taiwan's membership in organizations that require statehood or sovereignty, it also opposes the exclusion of Taiwan from all international organizations.

He also urged the presidential candidates to be prudent in making statements and in their actions before next year's polls.

Commenting on the meeting, Ma said he had assured Burghardt that the KMT would not follow the DPP's steps in being a "troublemaker" in the region.

"The KMT will not seek unstable cross-strait relations, but we will stand firm on our stance and will not surrender, either," Ma said later yesterday in Ilan County.

Ma said he also told Burghardt that Taiwan would not negotiate a peace agreement with China before the latter agreed to remove the missiles targeting Taiwan.

Su said Ma and Burghardt did not address Ma's "mutual non-denial" policy during the meeting.

Su said that the US should already understand that the "mutual non-denial" policy referred to the "1992 consensus" with each side of the Strait having its own interpretation of "one China."

He said that as long as China and Taiwan could reach the status of what he termed as "mutual non-denial," they would spontaneously refer back to the so-called "1992 consensus."
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