China urged to show good will by removing missiles
ROC Central News Agency
2008-06-01 19:17:41
Taipei, June 1 (CNA) Ruling Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung urged China Sunday to demonstrate "concrete good will" toward Taiwan by removing most of the missles targeting Taiwan.
Wu, who returned Saturday from a visit to China, said the missiles are part of China's military buildup and were not only targeted at Taiwan, but suggested the two sides of the Taiwan Strait could still make an effort to prevent war from ever occurring across the strait.
Wu said that during his meeting with Chinese President and Communist Party of China (CPC) General Secretary Hu Jintao during his six-day visit in China, he told Hu that Taiwan needs national security, dignity and room to maneuver in the international community. "The Chinese leadership's initial reaction to my requests was positive, but the most tangible sign of good will would be if it greatly reduced the number of missiles it has targeted at Taiwan," Wu said during a gathering in Taipei City with a group of fellow Hakkas from his native county of Taoyuan in northern Taiwan.
War is mankind's most stupid behavior, and it would be even worse if it were to happen in the Taiwan Strait, Wu said. "China could re-target its missiles at any time, and, if it could greatly reduce the number of missiles targeted at Taiwan, it would be the most concrete way it could show its good will," Wu reiterated.
Wu said he believes that the much criticized "KMT-CPC platform of communications" would act like a lubricant in stagnant cross-strait relations after the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party's tenure in office over the past eight years.
He added that since the KMT administration was inaugurated, cross-strait relations have improved dramatically, with dialogue between Taiwan's quasi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and its Chinese counterpart, the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), set to resume shortly.
Although the long-stalled SEF-ARATS would soon resume as the official communications channel across the strait, the KMT-CPC platform will still play its constructive role as a "lubricant, " helping cross-strait ties run even more smoothly.
Meanwhile, Wu said he welcomed the appointment of China's Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi to replace Chen Yunlin as director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.
Wu predicted that the appointment of Wang, a seasoned diplomat, would help Beijing formulate a new diplomatic strategy that sought a balance between cross-strait relations and its diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.
Briefing President Ma Ying-jeou Saturday on his trip, Wu said the chemistry between him and the Chinese officials he met on the trip, including Hu Jintao, was "so good" that he couldn't believe that Beijing could use its missiles against Taiwan.
Wu attributed the good chemistry to the groundwork laid down by Vice President Vincent Siew when Siew met Hu Jintao in Boao, Hainan province in China April 13 on the sideline of the Boao Forum for Asia, and the good will shown by President Ma in his inaugural address on May 20.
The outpouring of sympathy and donations from Taiwan people for victims of the Sichuan province earthquake also had a positive impact, Wu said.
Wu visited China May 26-31 at the head of a 16-member KMT delegation. In addition to Beijing, the KMT officials also visited Nanjing and Shanghai.
Soon after Wu's meeting with Hu, China invited the SEF to resume talks in Beijing from June 11-14.
The SEF and the ARATS were founded in the early 1990s to handle cross-strait exchanges in the absence of official ties. Regular dialogue, however, has been suspended since 1999 because of political differences between Taiwan and Beijing.
(By Deborah Kuo)
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