Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday said that a forum he will attend in Hong Kong this weekend will focus on policy research, not political dialogue.
The forum, titled “Symposium on Cross-Strait Relations: Development and Innovation,” will take place on Saturday and Sunday, Hsieh told a press conference.
He said the forum would bring together Chinese academics on cross-strait relations from Shanghai, Beijing and Xiamen, among other places.
Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Deputy Director Sun Yafu (孫亞夫) would also attend, Hsieh said.
Hsieh said he will give a speech at the event.
DPP legislators Chen Chiech-Ju (陳節如), Lee Ying-Yuan (李應元), Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), former DPP legislator Kuo Cheng-liang (郭正亮) and National Chengchi University professor Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) attended the press conference.
Tung and Kuo are also to attend the forum, Hsieh said.
Saying cross-strait communications have become imbalanced since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office, Hsieh said they should not become the sole domain of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“Why did the just signed cross-strait service trade agreement encounter so much opposition from Taiwanese … Because the CCP and the KMT are biased, and the KMT government only listens to the voice of big business, not the voice of the public,” Hsieh said.
The forum will provide an opportunity to discuss the real differences between China and Taiwan, Hsieh said.
The former premier said he is scheduled to visit Phoenix Hong Kong Channel and Taiwanese business people in Shenzhen, China, after the forum.
The forum is another attempt by Hsieh to foster closer DPP-CCP ties since he became the first senior DPP politician to visit China in October last year.
Hsieh, a moderate on China policy, has been advocating a “two sides, two constitutions (兩岸兩憲) initiative,” saying that both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be able to recognize the legitimacy of each other’s constitutions and strengthen bilateral ties.
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