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Academics debate cross-strait policy

Faced with Beijing’s growing political and economic clout, Taiwan must be more pro-active while seeking a domestic consensus, a panelist attending an international forum on cross-strait develop said yesterday.

Liu Fu-kuo (劉復國), a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University, said that he would like to see the government take more pro-active steps, something that has not been seen so far.

“Negotiating with China, Taiwan does not have that many bargaining chips,” Liu said.

While Beijing has its own problems to worry about, Taiwan can take advantage of the situation because Beijing wants to stabilize relations across the Taiwan Strait, Liu said.

It is also important to seek a domestic consensus, he said. If that proved impossible at the moment, at least efforts should be made to seek consensus between analysts with different opinions.

“At least we should understand that we need to work together, share our different views and understand our differences,” he said.

Liu made the remarks during a question-and-answer session at an international forum held at National Chengchi University yesterday morning. The event was co-sponsored by the university, the Brookings Institution, the Cross-Strait Interflow Prospect Foundation, the Epoch Foundation and the Council for Security Cooperation in Asia-Pacific, Taiwan.

While Liu urged Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to resist internal party pressures and talk with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Liu Shih-chung (劉世忠), a visiting fellow at the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, said that he did not think talks between the two political leaders would go anywhere.

What they should do instead was to talk to the public using language they understand, he said.

“I strongly recommend President Ma restart his ‘long stay’ program, spend time in the countryside and explain why he made such an effort over the last six months to engage with China,” he said.

As Ma’s approval rating has plummeted to a record low, Liu questioned the legitimacy of his presidential mandate. In addition to one Taiwan, Liu Shih-chung said, there are two Chinas under Ma’s policies: the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China.

With Ma insisting on negotiating with China under the framework of the so-called “1992 consensus,” Liu Shih-chung said Ma had effectively ruled out too many of Taiwan’s bargaining chips and left the nation with fewer options.

Event moderator, Richard Bush, a former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, on Wednesday urged the administration to handle sovereignty issues with care. Yesterday, he declined to elaborate on that statement.

He emphasized that the issues were too important not to be addressed in a serious manner and said that “it is not for an outsider to say what the answers should be and what the tactics should be when addressing them.”

“I just know that there are issues and that there is a lot at stake, and it is something that should be treated seriously,” he said.
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