Reconciliation between the ruling and opposition parties should outweigh that between Taipei and Beijing, a cross-strait expert said at a forum yesterday.
Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), a former envoy to the US and former Mainland Affairs Council chairman, said it was more important for the administration to reach a consensus with the opposition than to seek reconciliation with China.
“Taiwan will only become more polarized if the administration makes strenuous efforts to reconcile with China, but turns a deaf ear to the different voices of the opposition,” he said. “Nor does it conform to Taiwan’s interest.”
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The inaction of the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would only push Taiwan into a dilemma and the Chinese -Nationalist Party (KMT) administration’s attempts to silence its own party members and the opposition will not help form a domestic consensus, he said.
Wu said it did not matter that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweights had different opinions on cross-strait policy because their theories did not go beyond the “Resolution on Taiwan’s Future” passed in 1999.
He was referring to former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) who has been promoting what she calls the “1996 consensus,” in which she says that Taiwan became an independent, sovereign state on March 23, 1996, when the president was chosen by a nationwide popular vote for the first time in the nation’s history.
Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) recently proposed what he called an “overlapping consensus” on the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution. As part of this approach, he urged all political parties to embrace the ROC Constitution as common political ground.
He also urged independence supporters to unite with those supporting the “status quo,” thereby forming an “insurmountable” majority in opposition to pro--unification groups.
While former National Security Council secretary-general Su Chi (蘇起) has urged the DPP to reach a consensus on cross-strait issues before it talks to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Wu said Su’s comment reflected the KMT’s reluctance to negotiate with the opposition.
“It is just an excuse for them to say they cannot talk to the DPP because the DPP has different voices,” Wu said.
Wu made the remarks during a keynote speech at a forum organized by the Taiwan New Century Foundation in Taipei. The event was held to discuss the change of climate in the Asia-Pacific -region following Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) visit to the US last week.
While the Ma administration seeks to improve ties with China, Wu said it must realize that “a divided house will not stand.”
“Domestic reconciliation is more important than cross-strait rapprochement,” he said. “Equally important are the joint discussions of Taiwan’s strategic value and priority and Taiwan’s destiny, which can only be decided by Taiwanese, not the Chinese Communist Party.”
If the Ma administration is inactive in protecting Taiwan’s interest when the US strives for a better relationship with China, the opposition and private sector are duty-bound to make known their positions and join forces with -decision-makers in the US, he said.
Luo Chih-cheng (羅致政), chief executive of the Taiwan Brain Trust, said China has incorporated the US and the KMT into its own forces and is making efforts to woo the pan-green camp.
“China is teaming up with the KMT to court the DPP’s support base in southern Taiwan,” he said. “Taiwan is facing an unprecedented crisis and the presidential election in 2012 is a decisive battle. It is not a matter of winning or losing, but a matter of life and death. Once the voters make a wrong decision, Taiwan will pay a hefty price.”
Luo said Taiwan was not a problem, but an issue. On the other hand, China, whose economic power is rising, is a problem that the US must face. However, the Ma administration’s China-friendly policy is turning Taiwan into an issue that does not deserve much attention from the US and the rest of the world, he said.
Former national policy adviser Huang Tien-lin (黃天麟) said the economic rise of China mainly came from the undervaluation of the yuan and relocation of global manufacturers to China.
To improve the world economy and unemployment, the yuan must appreciate and heavier taxes must be imposed on imported Chinese goods, Huang said.
Kenneth Lin (林向愷), a former professor of economics at National Taiwan University, said a low yuan was not the only reason causing the trade imbalance between the US and China.
China’s poor working conditions, an inadequate social safety net and limited market access also contribute to the problem, he said.
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