The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) will be paying close attention to whether former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰), who is due to visit China next month, will sign a document on cross-strait relations while there, MAC Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday.
Wu was attending a forum held by the China Times on the enactment of the "Anti-Secession" Law legislated by China two years ago and made the remarks following the forum.
According to the KMT, Lien plans to travel to China to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤). It will be Lien's third visit to China. Last April, Lien led a 170-member delegation of business leaders and party officials to an economic and trade forum in Beijing.
Lien plans to discuss issues that include allowing more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan.
Lien first visited China in April 2005, a month after China enacted the "Anti-Secession Law."
Wu said that people of Taiwan have grave doubts about the wisdom of interactions between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since Beijing passed the "Anti-Secession" Law.
The content of the first closed-door meeting between the KMT and the CCP in 2005, has to date not been made public.
"We believe that the Taiwanese people would be suspicious about meetings with political connotations held between the KMT and the CCP in the future," Wu said.
Chen Ming-tong (陳明通), professor at the National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of National Development, yesterday said that Beijing would try to frame the pan-blue camp with the communiques that Lien and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) signed with China.
"If the pan-blue camp wins power in the presidential election next year, China would have grounds to ask them to carry out pro-China policies," Chen said.
Chen pointed out that Beijing has noted that the communiques that Lien and Soong signed have not been implemented and there is a rumor that Lien will meet Hu for the third time next month and sign an important document concerning the future direction of cross-strait relations. Chen urged the government to prepare for this situation.
Wu said that the system of government in a democratic country should be respected and the government is the only organization that is empowered to deal with diplomacy and policy, stressing that other non-governmental groups could assist and coordinate with the government yet they cannot replace the government or work against the government.
The council will pay close attention to any China visit and still hopes there will be mutual understanding and cooperation with the opposition parties and that clashes between the government and the opposition party are the last thing that the council wants to see, Wu said.
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