Taipei, Sept. 6 (CNA) The Republic of China looks forward to seeing the top leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait exchange visits and sit down to talk, government spokeswoman Chung Chin said Wednesday.
Chung was responding to mainland Chinese President Jiang Zemin's latest remarks on cross-strait relations, made on Tuesday shortly after his arrival in New York to attend the United Nations Millennium Summit.
"So long as Taiwan's leader accepts the 'one China' principle, then we can sit down to talk. He can visit the mainland, and I myself would also be willing to visit Taiwan," Jiang said while meeting with senior executives of several mainstream US news media.
Commenting on Jiang's statements, Chung said the ROC would certainly be pleased to see the top leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait exchange visits.
"President Chen Shui-bian has on many occasions expressed his willingness to make a journey of peace to the mainland, and mainland Chinese President Jiang is of course welcome to visit here," Chung said.
Nevertheless, Chung stressed that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have not yet reached a consensus on the "one China" issue.
"We are willing to sit down to discuss the 'one China' problem with mainland China, but we must remind Beijing of our basic stance that 'one China' should not be a prerequisite for cross-strait talks, but rather can be a topic for discussion," Chung noted.
Beijing's "one China" principle downgrades the ROC to a local-level government under the PRC, a stance that the ROC, an independent sovereign state since 1912, cannot accept.
Chung said the ROC welcomes assistance from any other country, including the United States, in pushing cross-strait ties to develop in a positive, constructive direction.
Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary-General to the President Eugene Chien said Beijing's "one China" principle involves complicated legal problems and is vague on certain key points.
Moreover, Chien said, Beijing has consistently characterized its "one China" principle differently at home and abroad.
Against this background, Chien said, the ROC cannot accept Beijing's "one China" principle as a precondition for resumption of cross-strait talks.
Chien said the ROC hopes that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait can hold dialogue and consultation under the principles of democracy, freedom and parity to create a "win-win" situation.
"The two sides should resume talks without any prerequisites or premises," Chien urged.
Noting that President Chen has shown much goodwill and sincerity toward Beijing since his May 20 inauguration, Chien said the top leaders on both sides should pool wisdom and creativity to resolve cross-strait disputes.
Chien further said the ROC expects the United States to play the role of a "stabilizer and helper" in the development of cross-strait relations. (By Sofia Wu)
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