CEP0012 [07/10/99 17:24:47] PD5K7604.
CEP-->MAUBO
07-10-99
FM LAUDS PRESIDENT'S VIEW ON MAINLAND CHINA-TAIWAN TIES
Taipei, July 10 (CNA) Minister of Foreign Affairs Jason Hu on
Saturday lauded President Lee Teng-hui's latest statement on
Taiwan-mainland China ties as an example of pragmatic diplomacy.
Echoing Lee's view that the relationship between Taiwan and
mainland China is that of a "special country-to-country" category, Hu
said the new interpretation will free Taiwan from Beijing's claim
that "there is only one China of which Taiwan is a part."
Lee's view, espoused in an interview with the German Deutsche
Welle broadcasting system on Friday, has aroused interest among local
political observers since it is worded differently from the
long-standing official line that "there is only one China, but it is
divided and ruled separately by two governments."
Accompanying Vice President Lien Chan on a walkabout in Taichung
City, the foreign minister said that Lee's view mirrors the
diplomatic pragmatism practiced by the ROC.
Characterizing the country-to-country status as a
"semi-international relationship," Hu said the ROC's shift away from
its earlier claim that it will "never coexist with the rebels" --
referring to the Beijing regime -- underlines its effort to create
this new status.
Lee's view, which emphasizes the uninterrupted sovereignty
enjoyed by the ROC ever since it was set up in 1912, is a way of
getting the country out of Beijing's "one China" trap, said Hu.
(By Maubo Chang)
ENDITEM/J
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