Wed, Apr 12, 2000 page4

• Korea not a `bellwether'

  REUNIFICATION Experts have said the apparent rapprochement between North and South Korea is not a sign that a similar situation is likely to occur across the Strait -- at least in the near future

  • By William Ide and Catherine Sung / STAFF REPORTERS
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  The announcement of a summit between North and South Korea to discuss reunification is being lauded internationally, but political analysts in Taiwan said parallels being made between the Koreas and cross-strait affairs are inapplicable.

  One striking difference between the two is that North and South Korea are both members of the United Nations and have a more equal relationship than Taiwan and China, said Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政).

  "With East and West Germany's separate membership in the UN in the 1970s, and later both Koreas, people began to see that even though both were members, unification can still be achieved," Lo said.

  "It could help unification come about even faster," Lo added.

  Rick Chu (朱立熙), an adjunct lecturer at National Chengchi University agreed. "The two should first be separate to become unified, to gain equal status."

  But realizing such a goal would be difficult. "Beijing always wants to sit in a big chair while Taipei is supposed to sit on the ground and call it father," Chu said.

  Both Koreas joined the UN in 1991 after holding high-level talks in 1990. Taiwan, on the other hand has become a diplomatic and political pariah since it was elbowed out of the international body in 1970.

  Until now, all high-level contacts between Taiwan and China have been through the semi-official representative bodies both sides have established to deal with each other indirectly.

  Beijing's stance shows no signs of changing just as Taipei is satisfied with maintaining its status-quo, neither rushing toward independence nor reunification with China.

  In response to news of the summit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi (孫玉璽) rejected any parallels with the Korean summit saying it was fundamentally different from cross-strait affairs.

  Sun said that while China welcomes the historical meeting between the two Koreas, Beijing's long-standing position is that Taiwan's leadership must accept the "one-China"principle before any negotiations are possible.

  "All in all we think the `one China' principle means that the sovereignty and territory of a country should not be separated and that the Taiwan question should be discussed under the `one China principle'," Sun said.

  The reason for the recent turn in relations between the two Koreas is because North Korea was forced by the current political situation to change its approach, said Shih Chi-ping (石齊平), a former secretary general at the Straits Exchange Foundation.

  "The problem now is that Taiwan doesn't want to talk with China," Shih said. The Korean summit has "no direct meaning for Taiwan and China if the situation here doesn't change."

  Both Koreas, while still occasionally engaging in small-scale military clashes have signed a peace agreement with one another.

  China has said it can resort to military force against Taiwan if Taipei declares independence and is unwilling to sign a peace accord with the island.

  But while the two Koreas have been able to hold talks at the highest level taking a top down approach to the problem, Taiwan has worked from the bottom up enjoying business and cultural exchanges with China.

  Taiwan is one of the largest investors in China and its exchanges with the mainland, which began in the late 1980s, have grown enormously over the past 10 years. The two Koreas have yet to open up direct contacts to the general population.
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