Next monday, the leaders of North and South Korea will meet in Pyongyang for the first time in 50 years. People around the world are both curious and expectant about the results of the summit, including many on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Unfortunately, pro-unification individuals and the media in Taiwan have transferred their "unification complex" on to the upcoming event. They've done everything short of asking, "If Korea can, why can't China?"
But before the two political entities of a split nation can meet for political negotiations, both sides must recognize the fact that the nation is indeed split.
That is, they must recognize that there are "two states" and must recognize the existence of the other state (including the sovereignty and title of the other state). Both sides must engage in talks on an equal footing and with mutual respect.
All of these conditions were met during the unification of the two Germanys and could be met by the two Koreas, but China refuses to admit to either.
If Beijing refuses to admit that the nation is split into two states, how could China accept the title of "Republic of China?"
Is it possible that there could be negotiations between Chinese President Jiang Zemin
These questions must be posed to Beijing. If the answer is no, there is no reason for Taiwan to try to emulate the Korean talks.
There are also many doubts about what the Pyongyang summit will be able to accomplish.
There are few actual exchanges between the people of North and South Korea. No wonder that the South Korean media portrays the government's sudden decision to open talks as a "huge gamble."
Moreover, many people in South Korea are pessimistic about the talks, since meetings between the two governments have been used as a means to political ends (President Kim Dae-jung announced the summit just three days before South Korea's elections in an apparent bid to influence the outcome of the polls).
If there are still people in Taiwan who hope to learn from Korea's summit, they should at least spend some time researching the facts about the Korean split before they start comparing the situation on the peninsula to cross-strait issues.
Otherwise, cries like "If Korea can, why can't China," might be understood in Beijing as an invitation for action.
Rick Chu is the associate editor in chief of the Taipei Times.
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