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CROSS STRAIT TALKS SHOULD BE HELD ON BASIS OF MUTUAL RESPECT: LIEN

2004-02-21 21:21:27

    Taipei, Feb. 21 (CNA) Presidential candidate Lien Chan urged the two sides of the Taiwan Strait Saturday to establish a dialogue mechanism based on mutual respect.

    The chairman of the opposition Kuomintang made the appeal during the second and final of two live televised debates between him and President Chen Shui-bian prior to the March 20 election.

    Lien was asked by Chen why he still insists on the so-called "one China, " when the international community sees "China" as meaning the People's Republic of China, of which Taiwan is a part, while the previous KMT administration's long advocation of "one China" has led Taiwan to become an international pariah.

    However, Lien countered by saying that according to the Republic of China Constitution, "China" means the Republic of China, which is what Chen pledged his allegiance to during his inauguration May 20, 2000.

    Lien said the so-called "1992 consensus, " which the KMT believes was reached between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in 1992, was based on the concept of "one China, different interpretations" and not as "one country, two systems" as construed by Chen.

    Lien said that cross-strait relations should start from a position of mutual respect and that both sides should put aside their political differences and start dialogue, leaving a solution to the "one China" issue for the future. Between now and that time, both sides still need to establish a dialogue mechanism, he said.

    In a question-and-answer session earlier, Lien also spoke about the three-stage National Unification Guidelines set out by the former KMT administration.

    He noted that nearly 13 years has passed since the unveiling of the guidelines, a period in which the nation's environment has undergone tremendous changes, which leaves a lot of room for discussion.

    He promised that if elected, he will "invite all political parties to promote a supra-party national development conference to forge a new consensus."

    He stressed that both sides of the strait should treat each other based on the principles of "equality and mutual respect."

    He also defended the mainland China policy of the old KMT administration, saying that between 1988 and 1995, the two sides conducted two meetings between Ku Chen-Fu and Wang Daohan, the top negotiators for the two sides, and nearly 30 cross-strait consultations, which he said resulted in many substantive agreements. "During the same period, Taiwan continued to develop and make diplomatic breakthroughs, while its society was orderly and prosperous, " Lien claimed, adding that "this shows that cross-strait development and Taiwan's development had no conflicts with what we advocated."

(By Lilian Wu)

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