Presidential Office denies having private talks with China
ROC Central News Agency
Taipei, Jan. 10 (CNA) The Presidential Office on Saturday rebutted a report that accused President Ma Ying-jeou of using his own "private channels" to communicate with China.
"The entire report was illogical," said Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi at a press conference.
"We do not need to go through private channels to communicate with China," he added.
Citing an influential figure from the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) who spoke on condition of anonymity, the local Liberty Times newspaper on Saturday reported that it seems Ma has his own contacts with China.
The KMT and the Chinese Communist Party have an understanding that they would communicate with each other before any public statements are made by senior officials on either side on cross-strait issues, the newspaper's source said.
However, the KMT was not given any advance notification of the parts of Chinese President Hu Jintao's Dec. 31 speech that pertained to Taiwan, the report stated.
This led the newspaper source to conclude that Ma must have his own private communication channels with China.
In his speech to commemorate the 30th anniversary of China's "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan," Hu made six proposals to promote the peaceful development of the cross-Taiwan Strait relationship, including the possibility of establishing a military confidence-building mechanism or even a peace accord.
Ma said on Dec. 30 that Taiwan is currently discussing with China the issue of Taiwan's representation in the World Health Assembly (WHA), the anonymous KMT figure noted, adding that it is not clear whom the president is talking with in China.
The KMT source claimed that neither the Mainland Affairs Council nor the Straits Exchange Foundation, which are responsible for handling cross-strait affairs, are aware of this development. (By Rachel Chan) Enditem /pc
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