President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said a nine-member task force, including at least one member of the pan-blue camp, had been mobilized to promote his "peace and stability" framework for cross-strait interaction.
"After winning the presidential election on March 20, the task force will begin operations and station a representative in Beijing," Chen said during an interview with the Kyodo News agency.
On the eve of the nation's first TV debate for presidential candidates, Chen expanded on his referendum plan and how the debate would be framed.
Chen said he had invited nine people of considerable influence, including members of different political parties and five respected figures from the private sector, to join the task force.
But he declined to reveal their names.
"I will make public the names of the task force and then ask it to recommend a representative to be based in China," he said.
Chen said the task force had been established to realise the verdict of the referendum, and to serve as a demonstration of his sincerity in improving cross-strait ties.
"China has always said that it wants to hear the voice of the Taiwanese people. If that is the case, 23 million Taiwanese people will express their voice through this referendum and clearly display their support for the government's policy," Chen said.
"We hope that China can respect the result of our referendum and sit down to talks with the new government," he said.
Chen also reaffirmed that if he won the election on March 20, his inauguration speech would further express his resolve to maintain the cross-strait status quo on the basis of the promises he has made over the last four years, in particular the "five noes" pledge he made at the 2000 inauguration ceremony.
"We may have to adjust our tactics more pragmatically to develop cross-strait policy ... But these actions will follow a clear and firm strategic stance," Chen said.
"The `five noes' statement ... which I made in 2000, I will maintain -- absolutely," Chen said,
"The wording may require some adjustment but the spirit of the entirety of the content will not be any different to that of my 2000 speech," he said.
"The main point is this: We will not only maintain the status quo but also protect the status quo from being changed," Chen said.
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