Tue, Jul 12, 2005 page3

• You says Beijing to blame for impasse in fruit talks

  `UNITED FRONT' A MAC official said China's refusal to talk to the group that Taipei has appointed for that purpose shows its lack of genuine goodwill

  • By Shih Hsiu-chuan / STAFF REPORTER
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  Reacting to pan-blue politicians' call for the government to hold talks with China on the issue of Taiwanese fruit exports, Main-land Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman You Ying-lung (游盈隆) yesterday reiterated that China is to blame for the lack of communication between the two governments.

  Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), Wu Chih-Yang (吳志揚), and People First Party (PFP) legislator Tsai Sheng-chia (蔡勝佳) briefed You on what they achieved on their visit to China earlier this month.

  "The Chinese authorities told us that they would like to help our farmers sell fruit to China," said Tseng, who urged the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government not to dismiss China's offer as "united front" tactics but instead to hold discussions soon with Beijing.

  Tsai said, "China is ready to unilaterally announce preferential treatment for our fruit exports ... even if our government is not willing to conduct such talks."

  In response, You first expressed his appreciation to the legislators for reporting their discussions with China to the MAC, which he views as a good model of communication between the opposition and the government. You then reminded the legislators that China is the one to blame for the deadlock on fruit export talks.

  "Since our government has designated the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) as the organization responsible for conducting talks, China should not refuse to talk to TAITRA," You said.

  "It has been one month since TAITRA was commissioned, but we haven't seen any positive response showing that China is ready to talk with TAITRA," You said.

  The government has no restrictions on exporting fruits to China, but related issues such as certificates of origin, quarantines and inspections involving the exercise of government power need to be handled by the government, he said.

  "These kinds of things can only be negotiated by the organization commissioned by the government, which is the basic principle of any negotiation," You said, appealing to the legislators to stand with the government and support TAITRA.

  You said the purpose of China's refusal to negotiate with TAITRA while offering to negotiate with other groups is to undermine the government's authority through "united front" tactics -- referring to the Chinese communists' time-honored divide-and-conquer moves against its enemies.

  "Parties as well as domestic farmers should be aware of China's intention," he said.

  In related news, You severely criticized Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), following Chen's remarks in a Chinese-language newspaper that "Taiwan is spoiling China's goodwill" -- referring to China's offers to give Taiwan pandas as presents, exempt 15 kinds of Taiwanese fruit from tariffs and lift restrictions on Chinese tourist travel to Taiwan.

  "Taiwan should not treat China's goodwill as `united front' [tactics]," Chen said.

  In response, "Taiwan has already designated related private organizations to deal with the talks. What Chen said to the newspaper only proves that he has turned a blind eye to our government's sincerity," You said.
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