Wed, Nov 22, 2000 page1

• DPP official says consensus on `one China' is unlikely

  COMMON GROUND Although the chairman of the party said that the Constitution should be consulted, the DPP's secretary-general says the issue will remain divisive

  • By Joyce Huang / STAFF REPORTER
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  A final consensus on the "one China" principle is unlikely to be reached, said DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) yesterday, adding that three DPP representatives in the President's Advisory Group on Cross Strait Relations (兩岸跨黨派小組) would not accept any position that is against the party's long-held stance on Taiwan's future.

  "Even if a consensus based on a [three-quarter] majority vote is reached, it will only be cited [to the president] as a reference, which is not binding to the party," Wu said.

  Wu added that, in his view, "the task force's version of the definition of `one China,' which includes three `acknowledgements' and four `suggestions,' is unlikely to be approved."

  Wu's comments clashed with those of DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who at the weekend urged party members to return to the Constitution's "one China" framework. Hsieh's remarks were widely interpreted as a seemingly softened stance on the "one China" principle and a positive response to Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh's (李遠哲) call for a "one China" consensus in order to break the ideological deadlock on cross-strait affairs.

  A "one China" consensus, however, can only secure Lee's final political position (政治位置) but it will not facilitate resumption of the cross-strait talks, observers said.

  "Lee's political position is as shaky as the task force, which has almost become functionless after the New Party withdrew," editor in chief of the Contemporary Monthly (當代雜誌) Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒) told the Taipei Times yesterday.

  "Lee is eager to serve as the [president's] special envoy on cross-strait negotiations, therefore, he realizes that the DPP is now the only party he can count on to accomplish his ambition and make headway on the debate over `one China,'" Chin said.

  Chin said that Lee raised a controversy without political acuity. At a time when President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is facing a power crisis, Chen would most need his DPP supporters to stop the push for a recall vote and, therefore, any expectation of concession on the "one China" principle from the DPP was unwise, Chin said.

  Andy Chang (張五岳), a cross-strait analyst at Tamkang University (淡江大學) agreed with Chin's view, saying "a consensus on the `one China' principle is almost out of the question."

  "There has never been any consensus in the past ... and there won't be any consensus in the future, either," Chang said, adding that only mutual understanding could be attained.
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