Taiwan President-Elect Denies Sending Emissary To Beijing
TAIPEI, Apr 3, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Taiwan's president-elect Chen Shui-bian Sunday denied a report that he had asked respected U.S. scientist Jeremy Stone to visit Beijing to help thaw frosty ties.
The report by the Washington Post was "groundless," he said.
"Here I want to solemnly clarify the report that Mr. Stone is acting as our emissary or special envoy," Chen said. "It is groundless."
The Washington Post said Stone, who helped the United States to forge an arms control treaty with the former Soviet Union, had met with Chen and his leading advisor Nobel Prize winner Lee Yuan-tseh before flying to Beijing on Friday.
The paper said Stone, who heads the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), has been acquainted with Lee for years.
Lee's last-minute backing for Chen in the March 18 presidential polls is believed to have played a crucial role in bagging the elections for him, ending five decades of rule by the nationalist Kuomintang.
It said Stone would meet with Chinese vice-premier Qian Qichen, assistant chief of staff Xiong Guangkai of People's Liberation Army, and mainland officials responsible for Taiwan affairs.
Chen, from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), however voiced hopes that tensions across the Taiwan Strait would ease.
"The cross-strait relationship must improve and be normalized. We must show our greatest sincerity and good-will in engaging in a détente between the two sides of the strait," Chen said.
"There may be people shuttling between Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei or the other way round. I realize these people hope to dedicate themselves to peace in the Taiwan Strait as well as security and stability in the Asia Pacific region.
"To these people we have to thank them for their efforts and sincerity. We must not cast any doubts over their motivation," Chen said.
It was not the first report of Chen sending emissaries to Beijing since he defeated the Kuomintang's outgoing Vice President Lien Chan and independent candidate James Soong in the polls.
Legislator Feng Hu-hsiang told Taiwan's Central News Agency last week that "quite a few envoys" were secretly dispatched to the mainland to try to contact or hold discussions with Beijing authorities but they were all turned away.
Chen has offered several olive branches to Beijing since his stunning victory, and has said he will not move towards independence.
But Beijing has adopted a "wait-and-see" attitude. Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji have reiterated that Chen must recognize the one China policy -- which makes Taiwan an inalienable part of China -- before any talks can begin.
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait were separated in 1949, when the communist forces of Mao Zedong defeated the nationalists at the end of a civil war. ((c) 2000 Agence France Presse)
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