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Ties contingent on PRC goodwill: panel
BENEFITS:A former Mainland Affairs Council head said the
country should not allow Chen Yunlin to visit, as Beijing continues to restrict
Taiwan’s international space
By Ko Shu-ling / Staff Reporter
Central Police University public security
professor Tung Li-wen, Taiwan Brain Trust chief executive Lo Chih-cheng, former
Mainland Affairs Council chief Joseph Wu, and Tung Chen-yuan, director of
National Chengchi University’s Prediction Market Center, left to right, address
a seminar yesterday in Taipei on Taiwanese businesspeople based in China and
cross-strait relations.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Until China acts in a more friendly fashion toward Taiwan, Taipei should bar
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林)
from visiting next week, a former Mainland Affairs Council chief said yesterday.
Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who is also a former envoy to Washington, said Taiwanese would
have no reason to oppose Chen’s visits if cross-strait negotiations could
advance relations, improve Taiwan’s economic development and protect the
interests of China-based Taiwanese businesspeople.
However, questions should be raised if the purpose of his visits is to make
empty promises, cause disturbances or divide Taiwan, Wu told a forum on
China-based Taiwanese businesspeople and cross-strait relations organized by
Taiwan Brain Trust, a think tank.
“The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should be held fully
responsible if it fails to express the displeasure of many Taiwanese with
China’s recent maneuvers in denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty and international
space,” he said.
Wu urged the Ma administration to take better stock of China’s military threat
and the damage it has done to Taiwan in the international arena.
Even some Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members have serious doubts about
China’s intentions vis-a-vis Taiwan’s sovereignty and participation in
international organizations, he said.
“The Mainland Affairs Council should tell [China’s] Taiwan Affairs Office that
it is not the right time for Chen to visit and that Taiwan will only welcome him
if things improve,” he said.
Wu said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should establish a center to
offer legal and consultation services to Taiwanese businesspeople based in
China.
“Only with a strong opposition will Beijing take Taiwan more seriously,” Wu
said.
Tung Li-wen (董立文), a professor at the Graduate School of Public Security at
Central Police University, said the stronger the DPP, the better the position of
Taiwanese businesspeople in China would be.
“Taiwan can do a lot of things to get what it wants, as China must win the
hearts of Taiwanese before it gets what it wants,” he said.
Tung urged the DPP to be more proactive in courting China-based Taiwanese
businesspeople and protecting their interests.
Tung Chen-yuan (童振源), director of National Chengchi University’s Prediction
Market Center, said the Ma administration owed Taiwanese an explanation as to
why the individual safety of China-based Taiwanese businesspeople continued to
deteriorate while cross-strait relations ostensibly improve.
“It shows the channel [of communication] between the KMT and Chinese Communist
Party is of questionable value,” he said.
With the legislative and presidential elections fast approaching, Lo Chih-cheng
(羅致政), chief executive of Taiwan Brain Trust, said he suspected China would be
more willing to offer economic sweeteners to Taiwan while remaining inflexible
on the diplomatic front.
He said the administration should not be afraid of negotiating with China and
that it should not do so out of fear.
“If the reason the administration negotiates with China is because it is afraid
that cross-strait relations would regress, then Taiwan has no bargaining chip
whatsoever,” Lo said. “The beauty of democracy is that some play ‘good cop’ and
some play ‘bad cop.’ While the council played the bad cop when the DPP was in
power, it is now playing the good cop better than anyone else.”
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