Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) Taiwan's opposition People First Party (PFP) issued a lengthy report Friday on its basic views and stances on relations across the Taiwan Strait.
PFP Chairman James Soong, a former Taiwan governor and ROC government spokesman, personally unveiled the report at a news conference.
Soong, who lost his presidential bid with a narrow range in the March 18 presidential election, said he hopes the new ROC government will refer to the report in formulating a new cross-strait policy that complies with the common interests of all residents in Taiwan.
The report outlined the PFP's basic stances on cross-strait relations as follows:
-- Residents in Taiwan are both Taiwanese and Chinese; both sides of the Taiwan Strait are parts of the "whole China" in historical, cultural and geographical terms; but Taiwan is by no means part of the "People's Republic of China";
-- The Republic of China has been an independent sovereign state since its establishment in 1912; this is an indisputable fact; although the two sides remain divided over the definition of "one China," all parties (including the international community) must respect the "status quo" on both sides of the Taiwan Strait;
-- Either side of the Taiwan Strait now has a legitimate government that exercises effective jurisdiction within its scope; and each side has its own rights and obligations concerning international affairs;
-- The call for "Taiwan secession" would hurt ethnic feelings of the people on both sides, hinder the development of mutually beneficial economic relations across the Taiwan Strait, and make it even more difficult to maintain cross-strait balance and peaceful co-existence;
-- The PFP does not rule out the possibility of multi-integration between the two sides so long as the free will of all Taiwan residents are fully respected; nevertheless, the party would never accept the Beijing-proposed "one country, two systems" unification formula.
The report also offered some suggestions for the future development of cross-strait ties:
-- The two sides should forge a "peace framework" based on the 1992 consensus, sign a "peace agreement" under this mechanism, set up a "military buffer zone" and promise not to use force to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait;
-- The two sides should adopt confidence and security building measures, promote regular security dialogue and develop a direct dialogue mechanism to avoid misjudgment of the situation;
-- The two sides should establish direct dialogue channels for talks on economic, banking, agricultural and transportation affairs to boost constructive interaction and protect the rights of Taiwan investors on the mainland;
-- The two sides jointly set up an elite forum to pool wisdom of experts and scholars on both sides to work out feasible measures to ensure peaceful development of cross-strait ties;
-- After both sides join the World Trade Organization (WTO), they should push for direct trade, mail and transportation links based on the principles of "dignity, parity, security and reciprocity" and boost economic cooperation by setting up "free trade zone," "customs alliance" and "common market";
-- Mainland China provides incentives and necessary protection to attract Taiwan investors to help develop mainland China's less developed inland areas;
--Mainland China should stop blocking Taiwan's bid to join the WTO and other international economic, cultural and sports organizations. (By Sofia Wu)
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