Taiwan's chief of mainland policy to focus on stability
Taiwan's new mainland policy planning head, Chen Ming-tong, regards the maintenance of cross-strait peace and stability as his priority in the coming year, when the island elects a new leader.
He says that as the chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) he has a need to secure Taiwan's sovereignty and identity in the face of a diplomatic embargo from its huge and hostile neighbour - mainland China.
'The year 2008 will be a crucial year when Taiwan is to elect a new president, which is important for democratic and political developments in Taiwan,' said the 51-year-old, who was recently appointed head of the MAC by President Chen Shui-bian.
'Therefore, the priority task of the MAC is to ensure that cross-strait relations remain peaceful and stable,' said Dr Chen, the MAC's vice-chairman from 2000 to 2004 and professor of the Institute of National Development under the prestigious National Taiwan University.
Rejecting claims by the opposition that his appointment might escalate cross-strait tensions, as Beijing has considered him a 'green' or 'pro-independence' figure, Mr Chen, from the pro-independence, ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said he would follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Joseph Wu Jau-shieh, when developing cross-strait relations.
'I will do all I can to promote cross-strait trade, economic, cultural and social exchanges under the guidance of goodwill, active co-operation and permanent peace as prescribed by President Chen and Premier Su Tseng-chang,' he said.
The former adviser and a confidant to Mr Chen said the government had a set policy and it was unlikely he would change it. Dr Chen drafted the 'China Policy White Paper' for Mr Chen in his 2000 presidential campaign.
He said the current task of his MAC was to complete speedily negotiations over the expansion of direct passenger and cargo flights over the Taiwan Straits, allowing mainland tourists to make sightseeing trips to Taiwan.
He said the MAC was prepared to assess the possibility of developing Chingchuankang Airport in the central county of Taichung into an international airport, to accommodate tourists from the mainland once Beijing allows mainland visitors to come for sightseeing trips.
But he stressed that under his tenure, safeguarding Taiwan's sovereignty and national dignity would be the foremost principle in any future negotiations with the mainland.
Asked if such a principle would result in fruitless talks, he said the biggest problem in cross-strait ties was that 'China doesn't recognise Taiwan's existence. When it does, ties will normalise', he said without elaborating.
Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) officials and lawmakers have attacked the appointment of Dr Chen, saying it will only serve to irritate Beijing.
'Chen Ming-tong has been seen as a signature figure, who has never concealed his support for Taiwan's independence,' said the KMT's Mainland Affairs Director Chang Jung-kung. Mr Chang said Dr Chen had been responsible in drafting a so-called 'second republic' constitution, which Beijing has claimed is aimed at aiding Mr Chen in pushing for his 'new constitution'.
But Dr Chen simply said that when he drafted the 'second republic constitution' he was still a scholar and the draft has nothing to do with the work in MAC.
As a professor, Dr Chen led a number of other academics in completing last month a draft aimed at distinguishing Taiwan's native government from the one formed in 1911 on the mainland and relocated to Taiwan in 1949.
The 1911-1949 entity is known as the 'first republic', while from 1949 onwards it is known as the 'second republic', which continues to use the old title 'Republic of China' but controls only Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other offshore islets.
Beijing, however, has viewed the draft as another attempt to push for a permanent split from the mainland.
Dr Chen, who has tried to develop a new interpretation of cross-strait ties to break the current stalemate, has said the draft offers another option for Taiwan.
And, because it still uses the current 'Republic of China' title, it would be more acceptable to the KMT, which founded the ROC.
In a recent article he said that, because of the 'united front' tactics employed by the mainland to divide Taiwan into pro-independence and pro-unification, Taiwan had unwittingly fallen into the 'prisoner predicament' trap set by Beijing, with the mainland acting as the 'policeman' and with Taiwan's opposition and pro-independence camps playing the role of 'prisoners'.
'I hope that by understanding the basic fact that the ROC is Taiwan, we can build a consensus between the pan-blue opposition and the pan-green pro-independence camps,' he said.
'We could then ask Beijing to take a pragmatic approach to dealing with the existence of the ROC, since this is the only practical way to resolve the cross-strait issue,' he said.
