Sat, Apr 30, 2005 page1

• Lien, Hu share `vision' for peace

  BEIJING MEET The KMT and CCP leaders agreed on a five-point plan, based on the so-called `1992 consensus,' for further negotiations and opposing Taiwan's independence

  • By Caroline Hong / STAFF REPORTER
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  Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) met with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) for more than two hours in Beijing yesterday and agreed to a five-point "vision for cross-strait peace" based on the so-called "1992 consensus."

  In the much-anticipated meeting, Hu and Lien talked as leaders of their respective parties, the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in private at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

  At a press conference held directly after the meeting, Lien described his talks with Hu as "sincere and natural." The animosity between the CCP and the KMT is a thing of the past, and what is important is to work together to create the future, he said.

  At the press conference, KMT spokesman Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭) said the five-point agreement emphasizes the need to resume peaceful cross-strait negotiations.

  The first point, Chang said, is an agreement between the CCP and the KMT to support the so-called "1992 consensus" and to support the resumption of cross-strait negotiation.

  Both parties oppose Taiwanese independence and seek the peaceful stabilization of the Taiwan Strait and facilitate the development of cross-strait peace, Chang said. Both parties agree on the importance of resuming negotiations on an equal basis and on the need for cross-strait dialogue on common issues in pursuit of the common good of both countries, he said.

  Second, the two parties agreed on the need to facilitate the end of the standoff between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and on the establishment of a peace agreement, Chang said.

  In order to do this, he said, the KMT and CCP have agreed to push for the establishment of mechanisms to promote peaceful and stable development of cross-strait relations, such as one for military affairs to avoid military conflicts.

  Third, the two parties agreed to establish mechanisms to promote economic cooperation and cross-strait interaction, he said. Examples of economic cooperation agreed upon were the opening of direct transportation links, including direct flights, and the strengthening of investment and agricultural cooperation, he said.

  Fourth, Chang said, the two parties agreed to push for negotiations on Taiwanese participation in international organizations and events. A priority, he said, would be Taiwanese membership in the World Health Organization, a position which Taiwan has long coveted but has been blocked by China.

  The last point, Chang said, was a plan to establish a system for party-to-party communication and talks to continue the dialogue Lien and Hu began yesterday.

  Both Lien and Hu emphasized the so-called "1992 consensus" in remarks prior to their closed-door meeting.

  In his words of welcome to Lien, Hu called their meeting a historic moment for the both their parties and the beginning of a new era. He said the CCP welcomes anyone who acknowledges the "1992 consensus."

  Indirectly slamming President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) administration, Lien said: "In 1992, both nations supported the principle of `one China with different interpretations.' However, in recent years, this principle has been distorted."

  "The KMT hopes to build a beautiful and bright future for both nations across the strait on the basis of the `1992 consensus,'" Lien said.

  The so-called "1992 consensus" refers to an agreement supposedly made on "one China" during a meeting in Hong Kong in 1992 between Taiwanese and Chinese representatives.

  The KMT has said that both sides agreed verbally that there was only one China and that both sides would retain their own interpretation of that "one China." Neither the Chen administration nor the former KMT government ever accepted that there was such a consensus.

  Also see stories:

  Foreign minister criticizes Lien's trip

  Lien kow-towing to Beijing, green camp says

  DPP Chairman Su again blasts Lien over visit

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