What is the difference between US$1 and four quarters? Nothing. What is the difference between Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen's (
When Qian said "domestic affairs within one country," the country he was referring to was obviously not Taiwan. In fact, his statement is just as unacceptable as the "one China" tune Beijing has been singing. After all, one can always argue that while there is indeed only "one China," Taiwan is not part of it. But conceding that direct links are a domestic affair would mean accepting that Taiwan is part of the PRC.
This sugar-coated poison came in response to President Chen Shui-bian's (
Although Qian's statement was far from innova-tive, it was enough to get some opposition law- makers excited beyond all reason. For example, the PFP's legislative caucus convener Shen Chih-Hwei (
Qian also indicated that negotiations for direct links could begin as soon as Taiwan appoints a private body to negotiate on its behalf. This of course echoed Chen's earlier offer. But how "private" could such a private body be? Isn't SEF a private body too? The nature of its work -- cross-strait affairs and negotiations -- made it impossible for it to be anything but "semi-governmental," to say the least.
For example, take the negotiations for the new Hong Kong-Taiwan air accord. The protracted discussions prove that it is impossible to negotiate transport links between two sovereign entities without governmental involvement. While Taiwan's delegation was composed of both government and private sector officials, the latter couldn't really participate in a meaningful way. As for Hong Kong's supposed "non-governmental" delegation, its sole function appears to be reporting back to Beijing and waiting for China's approval on every minute detail.
No decisions concerning navigation rights across state boundaries, flight routes, vessel flags, among others, can be decided without government involvement. The air negotiations were inter-governmental without being called so.
Unfortunately, following Qian's statement on Friday, Chen was quick to indicate that the SEF's mission for any new negotiations is over. Many people have interpreted Chen's comments as meaning that the foundation will no longer have a role in cross-strait negotiations, since the president probably intends to appoint another private body to conduct talks. Does this mean Chen is really going to open up talks on direct links as a result of Qian's statements? We hope he is smart enough not to.
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