President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday reiterated his desire to attend the APEC summit scheduled to be held in Shanghai in October, saying the occasion could serve as a vehicle to resume cross-strait talks.
Chen told visiting US House Representative Henry Hyde, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, during a meeting yesterday afternoon that Taiwan would not pass up any opportunity that would bring about the resumption of cross-strait talks.
Chen said the APEC summit in Shanghai would be "a stage and a bridge" for resumption of dialogue between Taipei and Beijing.
PHOTO: REUTERS
As long as leaders from both sides could sit down and talk without having any precondition and agenda, it would serve as a "window of opportunity" for cross-strait reconciliation, a Presidential Office statement said.
Chen also told Hyde that he urged the US Congress to pay attention to the issue.
US Representative Gary Ackerman on July 24 went so far as to submit a House resolution "expressing the wish of Congress to encourage [Chen's] full participation" in the APEC forum. The House will vote on the resolution early next month, sources said.
China, however, has said that it is out of the question for Chen to attend the Shanghai summit.
When answering a related question by his guests, Chen said "lack of confidence" had triggered China's hesitation to resume dialogue with Taiwan because Beijing was unwilling to accept him as Taiwan's national leader, despite the fact that he was directly elected by its citizens.
"It's not easy to make stones nod in agreement [頑石點頭], but we will wait for the stones to nod in agreement with wisdom, creativity and patience," the statement quoted Chen as saying.
The president said Taiwan's recent decision to relax the policy of "no haste, be patient" towards the mainland was illustrative of the nation's confidence.
Chen said he agreed with Hyde that a China that was economically strong would be good for globalization and international trade, and a China that is democratic and peaceful would serve as an important basis for cross-strait stability and also security in the Asia-Pacific region. He said Taiwan expected China to gradually democratize and modernize, adding that Taiwan could serve as a "lighthouse" for China's democratization based on its own achievements in democratization.
Democracy, equality and peace should serve as principles for the resumption of cross-strait talks, and respect for the will and right to choose of the 23 million citizens of Taiwan should not be disregarded, Chen said.
Hyde expressed a similar view during the meeting.
The 77-year-old Republican said that leaders of both sides could avoid misunderstanding only through dialogue and communication, and any such dialogue and reconciliation should not be done at the cost of democracy.
Hyde also congratulated Taiwan for its democratic transition of power following last year's presidential election, the statement said.
Hyde brought up the same topic when he met with former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday morning, according to Hyde.
Lee's recent stirring-up of Taiwan's domestic politics was also a topic of interest. "I congratulated him for staying active in the political arena because he has a lot to contribute," Hyde told reporters when emerging from the 40-minute talk at the Grand Hotel.
Hyde added that Lee said that "he wanted to make a contribution to democracy, and that the idea is more important than the party."
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