President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) made another goodwill gesture to Beijing yesterday by suggesting that he was willing to send representatives to China in an attempt to break the cross-strait impasse.
"The World Trade Organization is the best -- but not the only platform -- for dialogue between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait," Chen said in a speech via video link-up to a seminar at Harvard University's Fairbank Center for East Asian Research.
Chen stressed that because China has continued to refuse to open a dialogue with Taiwan, it has prevented the two sides from reaching agreements on joint trade regulations.
"We believe that since both sides have entered the WTO, dialogue under the international mechanism will finally help normalize the cross-trade relations and ease the tense atmosphere," Chen said.
The president then praised Beijing for its recent pragmatic comments on Taiwan, saying he welcomes any talk on the basis of goodwill which could help improve cross-strait relations.
"As long as leaders from both sides are sincere, willing and creative, both sides can have any dialogue under the basic principles of democracy, equality, and peace without any preconditions or limits," Chen said.
Chen stressed that Taiwan would be glad to send representatives to visit China to broadly exchange views on issues that concern both sides, such as the small three links, cross-trade normalization and investment protection agreements.
"Both sides can even discuss the controversy surrounding the process and conclusions of the 1992 meeting in Hong Kong," Chen said.
"If China wishes to send representatives to Taiwan, our country will also welcome them sincerely."
"We believe that only through dialogue and contact can we avoid suspicion and misjudgments and resolve differences," Chen said.
He recommended that the two sides shelve political differences and take concrete steps to normalize their growing economic and trade ties.
"Therefore, I urge that there should be more economy, less politics; more contacts, less misunderstanding; and more trust, less suppression between the two sides," he said.
When asked by US scholars attending the seminar whether the recent move by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to write "Taiwan" in Roman script on ROC passport covers reflected a government inclination to gradually seek independence, the president insisted the policy has nothing to do with independence.
"That measure is for the purpose of convenience and to prevent confusing foreigners because ROC passports have often been misunderstood as having been issued in the PRC," Chen said.
"We have received a lot of complaints about such confusion," he continued.
"The ROC, as a democratic country, can't ignore the problem. To note `Taiwan' on passport covers is just a record and description of the fact that our passports are issued in Taiwan, not in Beijing. This has nothing to do with independence."
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