DPP presidential candidate vows to seek dialogue with China
ROC Central News Agency
2007-07-25 23:47:21
Washington, July 23 (CNA) Ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh said Monday that he will seek dialogue with China if elected in the 2008 election.
Hsieh further said he believes that China will grow in self-confidence as its economy grows, and that it is resultingly not anxious to resolve Taiwan Strait issue, so Taiwan will have greater maneuvering room, making a win-win situation possible.
Hsieh made the remarks while speaking with the media in Washington, D.C. He is currently in the middle of a July 20-30 visit to the United States.
Hsieh noted that China has more confidence in itself following its current economic boom, and as a result is not in a rush to address its issues with Taiwan.
He added that China will give Taiwan more room for negotiations in a belief that, perhaps in the future, the people of Taiwan will favor unification with China.
With greater confidence, China will be more patient in dealing with the Taiwan issue, Hsieh said, adding that Taiwan and China can reach an agreement when both sides are patient and agree that the people of Taiwan have the right to decide their own future.
Hsieh also said that dialogue will decrease the tension between both sides, and will be conducive to cross-Taiwan Strait peace.
However, he emphasized that he will not engage in dialogue with Beijing at the expense of Taiwan, adding that accepting the "One China" principle as the premise for bilateral talks is an act of surrender, not co-existence.
Urging China to resume cross-strait talks without asking Taiwan to accept the so-called "'92 Consensus, " Hsieh said that both government had also convened talks prior to the "'92 Consensus, " saying that "sincerity" is the key to the resumption of the talks.
If the barriers between Taiwan and China are removed, both sides will have more time and money to act, creating a "win-win" situation. Taiwan might also offer assistance to China as Taiwan has encountered many of the same problems that China is now experiencing, Hsieh said.
In addition, Hsieh claimed at a campaign rally following his arrival in the U.S. capital July 22 that he can win 250,000 votes more than his rival -- Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou -- does in the next year's election.
Only when victory is handed to the DPP in 2008 will the KMT -- which ruled Taiwan for 55 years after being defeated by the Community Party in China -- be forced to transform itself into a party that values Taiwan over China, Hsieh said.
Electoral victory will also compel China to face reality and respect the choice of Taiwanese people, which will ensure permanent peace across the strait, Hsieh went on.
Hsieh urged more than 1,000 Taiwanese expatriates attending the rally to return to Taiwan to vote for him next year in the election because he can safeguard Taiwan's fundamental values better than Ma.
He also said that his victory will help Taiwan become a normal country because that victory would marginalize the fraction within the KMT that supports unification with China.
Noting that the DPP has greatly enhanced the Taiwanese identity over the years, Hsieh said that 10 years ago, less than 20 percent of Taiwanese people considered themselves to be "Taiwanese", but rather "Chinese."
Now, 70 percent regard themselves as "Taiwanese, " according to Hsieh.
Only a few people argued that the future of Taiwan should be decided by its own people a decade ago, Hsieh said, however, now even Ma must say as much.
Hsieh also pointed out that even with the next 30 years, China would not be able to compete with Taiwan in terms of democracy.
(By Huang Juei-hung and T.C. Jiang)
ENDITEM/jnc
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
