Issues surrounding cross-strait relations made their way into the rhetoric of independent legislative candidates yesterday, with former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) announcing his own vision for relations with China.
Speaking in the rain at his rally in Taipei yesterday, Hsu said that it is time that Taiwan proposed a new "one China" policy on its own terms and said that future Taiwanese and Chinese diplomatic relations should be modeled on a European Union (EU)-style partnership.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
A new "one-China principle," modeled after the EU, should follow four main principles, Hsu said.
First, the status quo should be maintained with the institutional structures of the "Republic of China" intact. Second, the model will call for the establishment of a common cross-strait marketplace to facilitate the opening of airspace, financial markets and tourism between China and Taiwan. Third, an administrative mechanism would be established above the existing institutional structures on either side of the strait to jointly regulate the cross-strait economic marketplace. And fourth, an advisory body without legislative capacity will be created, called the "Chinese Parliament" to establish equal footing for negotiations between Taiwan and China.
An EU-style mechanism for cross-strait relations meets the country's needs for security and dignity and would let Taiwan take the initiative in shaping the future on its own terms, said Hsu yesterday.
"Considering that [US Secretary of State] Colin Powell has reaffirmed the US' position of not supporting Taiwan's independence. Considering that the `one China' policy has been the cornerstone of US policy toward Taiwan; and considering Beijing's present stance that Taiwan accept `one China' as the precondition of any official cross-strait contact, it is likely that by 2006, Taiwan will be forced to accept a `one China' principle," Hsu warned yesterday.
Adding to the controversy of his proposal, Hsu made his comments yesterday in front of a poster featuring his picture next to Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平), the late Chinese Communist Party leader who revolutionized the country's economy.
"I greatly respect and admire Deng. Taiwan and China should not be at odds. We need to stop looking at the Chinese leadership as the enemy," said Hsu, adding that he hopes that the campaign poster will provoke thought.
Hsu, who heads the maverick political group the Taiwan Democracy School, made his proposal while campaigning in Taipei yesterday. He is one of seven candidates to whom the school has given its endorsement in the year-end legislative elections. Hsu is attempting to win a legislative seat in Taipei's southern district.
Another independent legislative candidate yesterday, Taipei City Councilor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Committee member Lin Chin-chang (
The alliance will pressure the KMT into dropping its long-time adherence to a policy of unification with China, Lin said. Doing so is crucial at this time to help the KMT regain its former glory, he added.
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