On Jan. 30, 1995, Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
When all's said and done, propaganda for "one country, two systems" remains the cornerstone of Beijing's position. Although, for a change, Beijing displayed some level of flexibility in its policy, it had hoped that, on the eve of another China visit by US President George W. Bush, the statements would help cast the blame for the continued stalling of cross-strait political dialogue on the Chen Shui-bian (
Since running for president, Chen has always called for the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to open political dialogue without preconditions and even for their leaders to exchange visits.
In other words, the DPP government has always adopted an attitude of openness toward cross-strait political dialogue. In contrast, Beijing has erected obstacles to dialogue, thereby restricting the flexibility of its Taiwan policy.
A more creative aspect of Beijing's recent statements is perhaps the clear assertion that China is eyeing the DPP as important prey for its political propaganda. This is a real departure from its past evasive attitude toward the DPP.
Moreover, Hu, the likely successor to Jiang's throne after the Chinese Communist Party's 16th National Congress in September, pointed out in his speech that "Taiwan's localization is not tantamount to its independence; nor are the DPP and Taiwan independence the same thing."
Despite his intention to sidestep the political reality of split sovereignty across the Taiwan Strait, his message is basically a goodwill gesture. To some extent, it meets the internal political needs of both governments and is positive and significant in creating advantageous conditions for political reconciliation between the two sides.
Qian, however, also said, "The Taiwan authorities have spent enormous sums to procure advanced weapons and equipment on a large scale. Its attempt to seek Taiwan independence by means of military support from external powers will not bring Taiwan security. Instead, it will further escalate tensions in the [Taiwan] Strait and ultimately destroy the fundamental interests of Taiwanese compatriots."
The above statements show that the Beijing government still assumes a hardline, condemnatory attitude on arms sales, but ignores the military modernization currently undertaken by its People's Liberation Army and the threats posed to Taiwan by the hundreds of ballistic missiles aimed at it.
China has made its Taiwan policy more flexible and pragmatic and tried to create a more friendly environment conducive to alleviating tensions. But differences still exist between the two sides in terms of their politics and basic stances. These are issues that cannot be resolved in the short term. The two sides must deal with cross-strait issues with goodwill and patience in the future and avoid over-optimistic and impractical expectations.
On the other hand, although the two sides both benefit from peace, Taiwan still has a legitimate need to be able to defend itself so long as Beijing refuses to rule out the possibility of resorting to military force and continues to strengthen its military. This point may have been neglected in both Hu's and Qian's speeches, but it will be the cornerstone of any peace negotiations between the two sides.
Chang Pai-ta is a deputy research fellow on the DPP's Policy Committee.
Translated by Jackie Lin
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