The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), Taiwan's semi-official body that deals with China which has been highly successful since its creation a decade ago, may not be able to live up to its past glories again, analysts said yesterday.
The increasingly complex nature of cross-strait ties, they said, have made the SEF less relevant, a tendency that is complicated by Beijing's attempts to marginalize the DPP-led government.
"Beijing, eager to settle the sovereignty feud, is seeking to downplay the relevance of the SEF," said Pan His-tang (
The SEF, set up by the former KMT administration to mediate disputes arising from exchanges between private citizens on both sides, is not in a position to address political issues, Pan noted.
As such, the SEF in its contact with its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), has staved off any invitation to political dialogue, Pan said.
The Taipei-based intermediary body carried out a total of 22 talks with its Beijing equivalent in the last 10 years that culminated in two meetings in 1994 and 1998 between Koo Chen-fu (
After former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) characterized cross-strait relations as "state-to-state" in nature, Beijing refused to continue negotiations with Taiwan, Pan said.
In a policy paper released days before the 2000 presidential election, China threatened the use of force against Taiwan if it dodges unification talks indefinitely.
Suspicious of the pro-independence clause enshrined in the DPP platform, Beijing has ignored overtures offered by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
The ensuing war of words following the state-to-state remark has marginalized the SEF, although the Chen administration reiterated as recently as Friday that it remained the sole agency to mediate cross-strait affairs on Taiwan's behalf.
Shaw Chong-hai (
"In the absence of cross-strait dialogue, the SEF cannot act in the way it was designed to," Shaw said, linking the dilemma to the "one China" row.
Seeking to box in Chen, once a vocal supporter of Taiwan independence, Chinese leaders have made it clear that no dialogue may take place before the DPP government recognizes the "one China" principle.
Chinese society, rigid and dogmatic, would not tolerate its leaders backing down on such an important issue, Shaw said.
"Even signs of vacillation may cost them their leadership in government," Shaw added.
Chen, on the other hand, has said he would only treat the "one China" claim as a subject to be discussed on the negotiating table. While willing to mute his pro-independence rhetoric, he insists that the 23 million people of Taiwan must have the final say on the country's destiny.
"The series of concessions Chen has made thus far are seen by China as little more than cosmetic," Shaw said.
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