The
United States government Tuesday for the first time proposed three
suggestions for initiating a dialogue across the Taiwan Strait: The
two sides should resume direct dialogue; they should begin with economic
issues; and they should increase understanding in order to enhance
mutual trust.
The U.S. also called upon
the mainland Chinese government to acknowledge the leadership of Taiwan
that was created through democratic elections, and to promote cross-strait
dialogue with a higher degree of sincerity.
Assistant Secretary of
State for East Asian Affairs James A. Kelly stated in testimony before
the U.S. House of Representatives International Relations subcommittee
that the key issue in cross-strait relations is how to move from focusing
on a military balance to focusing on resolving discord.
Kelly, who has been in
office for only a month and a half, said that the answer to the long-standing
cross-strait antagonism lies in three areas.
Firstly, Taiwan and mainland
China should resume direct dialogue, he said, noting that both sides
have expressed an interest in dialogue, and Koo Chen-fu and Wang Daohan
met for a second time in 1998. Kelly indicated that the U.S. has no
set opinion as to how the two sides dispel mutual hostility, and Washington
will not act as mediator, but has one unchanging interest, which is
that the resolution of differences can only occur through peaceful
means.
Kelly
said that Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian has several times reiterated
his commitment to cross-strait dialogue, and the conduct of both sides
should avoid causing the other side to misjudge the situation.
Secondly,
as long as political dialogue is slow in opening up, the two sides
should join hands on economic issues. Kelly pointed out concrete examples
of growing cross-strait economic ties. Taiwan and mainland China enjoy
annual trade of more than US$30 billion, the profits of Taiwanese
businesses in mainland China are offsetting the demands of the Taiwanese
economy, and Taiwan has begun to lift restrictions on mainland businesses
entering the island.
The accession of both
mainland China and Taiwan to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will
also serve to quicken the pace of cross-strait economic cooperation,
he suggested.
Thirdly,
Kelly averred that Taiwan and mainland China should work to build
mutual trust. He said that both sides need to strengthen exchanges
in order to better understand the other side. In particular, the United
States urges mainland China not to resort again to intimidation and
terror, but instead to "appeal" to Taiwan's people.
Kelly stressed that this
is a necessary move in the direction of democracy, because if they
wish to initiate substantive dialogue, Beijing can no longer pretend
that the democratically elected leadership of Taiwan does not exist.
On the contrary, Beijng should think up ways to attract Taiwan's democratically
elected leaders.
In his testimony, Kelly
mentioned the three communiques made between Washington and Beijing,
but he also emphasized the Taiwan Relations Act several times. Kelly
said that the United States' continuing to provide defensive weaponry
to Taiwan will be beneficial to maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait,
and will make it easier for Taiwan and mainland China to resolve their
differences peacefully.
On several instances,
he also mentioned the United States' long-standing stance that any
disagreement in the Taiwan Strait must be resolved through peaceful
means.
Kelly said that if PRC
leaders ignore their international responsibilities in such areas
as national security, human rights, weapons proliferation and trade,
the United States will use all available methods to compel mainland
China to move in a more constructive direction.
