The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday that Taipei is ready to talk to Beijing on any issue -- including the "one China" principle -- if Wang Daohan (汪道涵), chairman of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), is willing to visit Taiwan.
At a news conference, MAC Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) elaborated on the invitation to visit Taipei that MAC Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) extended to Wang on Thursday.
Wang would be China's top negotiator with Taiwan in the event of cross-strait talks.
Chiu said that Wang would be able to meet anyone he wishes, including President Chen Shui-bian (
On Thursday, Wu publicly invited Wang to come to Taipei at a farewell party for Shi Hwei-yew (
Shi is moving on to head the Coast Guard Administration.
"Wang can meet anyone he wants and go wherever he wishes if he comes to Taiwan," Wu said Thursday.
Wu's gesture was viewed by some as another in a series of olive branches offered by Chen to Beijing.
Beijing issued harshly worded statements before and after Chen's inauguration on May 20, lashing out through its Taiwan Affairs Office on May 17 and May 24.
"We are waiting for Beijing's response to the invitation," Chiu said, adding the Presidential Office and other government agencies had held discussions about the invitation before Wu's announcement.
Beijing has so far made no comment on the invitation.
Wang and Koo Chen-fu (
"After Wang and Koo's meeting in Shanghai, Koo invited Wang to visit Taipei. Wang reported the invitation to former Chinese president Jiang Zemin (
In 1999, Li Yafei (
However, preparatory work was halted after former president Lee Teng-hui (
The US has urged Taiwan and China to resume talks, but Chiu would not say whether Taiwan informed the US of its invitation to invite Wang to Taipei ahead of Wu's public invitation.
"The US' priority is to see cross-strait disputes solved through peaceful means," Chiu said.
"But the US is not necessarily interested in every detail," Chiu said.
Wang and Koo's previous meetings were held after China and Taiwan reached the so-called 1992 Consensus in Hong Kong, which, according to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Many Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials, however, argued that no consensus ever existed and that Beijing began to use the term "1992 Consensus" only after 2000 in an effort to confuse people.
Wang Ling-ling (
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