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Chinese officials responsible for Taiwan affairs held a symposium in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last Wednesday, aimed at reinforcing President Hu Jintao’s “six-point statement” – the latest guideline for China’s Taiwan policy – delivered one year ago. Hu’s speech had emphasized the one-China policy, discouraged the “Taiwan independence” activities of the island’s opposition party, and put forward proposals for developing financial cooperation, military security and mutual trust – and eventually a peace agreement.
About 150 people participated in last week’s symposium, including Taiwan student representatives. And, instead of being handed a press release from China’s Xinhua News Agency, Taiwanese reporters based in Beijing were allowed to sit in on the program and interact with Chinese officials engaged in Taiwan affairs. For most of these officials it was their first exposure to the Taiwan media.
While most officials discussed economic, cultural and travel affairs, the Taiwan media took their political cues from Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Wang Yi, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. Jia mentioned “unification” six times; half of them references to “peaceful unification,” said the United Daily News.
Further, both Jia and Wang stressed the “economy first, politics later” policy for ongoing cross-strait talks. Jia indicated that agreements on financial cooperation and educational and cultural exchanges should be advanced and efforts made to resolve any difficulties, ahead of negotiations on politics and military security.
Taiwan’s Economic Affairs Ministry said Monday that it expects to begin formal talks with China over a trade agreement in mid-January. An Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement is expected to be signed in the first half of 2010, paving the way for progress toward the political dialogue and peace framework that Beijing desires.
Last Thursday, in an interview with the German periodical Internationale Politik, Ma Ying-jeou said that the “two Germanys model” is not applicable to China and Taiwan. He explained that the two Germanys recognized each other’s territory and sovereignty and joined the United Nations separately, although both hoped for eventual unification.
China and Taiwan, for legal and historical reasons, do not recognize each other’s sovereignty. Also, through 60 years of separation, their different political regimes and social standards have produced two very different societies. It is therefore difficult for the people and the political systems to come together.
Only if the mainland government respects Taiwan’s democratic system, does not deny Taiwan’s political reality, gives up its predetermined political premises and withdraws its missiles targeting Taiwan could political negotiations be possible on an equal, dignified and reciprocal basis, Ma told the German reporter.
He added that no peace agreement could be signed while China still has 1,300 missiles aimed at Taiwan and has refused to give up the option of taking the island by force.
Asked if he would be willing to have a meeting with Hu, both in their roles as leaders of their political parties, Ma expressed reservations, saying such a meeting would be inappropriate until the people of Taiwan reached a stronger consensus over the pace of improving cross-strait relations.
In a televised message to the nation on New Year's Eve, Hu’s remarks on Taiwan stressed the principle of “peaceful unification” and the formula of “one country, two systems.”
But Ma, also in a televised New Year’s Eve message, told his people that any aggressive political move toward rapid unification or rapid independence at the current time would cause serious confrontation and turmoil. He reiterated his commitment to “no unification, no independence and no force,” and to promoting cross-strait exchanges and cooperation based on the “1992 consensus” – in which both sides agreed there is only one China, but which allows different interpretations of what that means.
However, Ma’s middle way poses a challenge to both pro-unification Beijing and pro-independence forces in Taiwan. The former harbors a deep sense of uncertainty as to whether Ma will lead the island back to the mainland, while the latter claims to worry whether Ma will betray the island and “sell” Taiwan to China for his own interest.
Although opinions in Taiwan are still very much divided, 28 “heavyweight” scholars from the mainland, led by Zheng Bijun, deputy principal of China’s Central Party School, traveled to the island for the biggest ever cross-strait seminar last November. The Chinese participants included two retired ambassadors and two former military officers from China’s Military Science Academy, and almost all the key Chinese scholars specializing in Taiwan affairs.
To some people’s surprise, several mainland representatives bravely put forth political proposals, which were seen as testing the waters for China’s state leaders. For example, one Chinese scholar proposed a “Cross-Strait Common Affairs Committee” with representatives from Taiwan and the mainland working together to plan, organize, coordinate, control and oversee the handling of cross-strait affairs. Another Chinese scholar suggested legalizing a statement that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same China.
These and other proposals having already been put forward suggests that 2010 will be the year that cross-strait dialogue inches beyond the sphere of economic cooperation and ventures into the dangerous waters of political discussion. Just what will come of this, however, is far from clear.
