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‘One country’ remarks
indicate dysfunction: DPP
OUT OF THE LOOP: Lai Shin-yuan and Tsai
Der-sheng told the legislature that they were not consulted nor briefed on Wu
Poh-hsiung’s trip to Beijing last week
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party
legislators Su Chen-ching, Pan Men-an and Tsai Chi-chang, left to right, hold a
press conference yesterday at the legislature in Taipei accusing President Ma
Ying-jeou of selling out Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) are reverting Taiwan to a single-party state
with their ill-conceived proposal that cross-strait relations be conducted under
the concept of “one country, two areas (一國兩區),” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
lawmakers said yesterday.
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) and National Security
Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Der-sheng (蔡得勝) said in the legislature
yesterday that they were not consulted nor briefed on former KMT chairman Wu
Poh-hsiung’s (吳伯雄) trip to Beijing, where Wu made the proposal to Chinese
President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on Thursday.
“The controversy reflects a dysfunctional administration, with party officials
making major political statements for the government,” DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang
(段宜康) said.
Ma, who Tuan said had -authorized Wu to make the proposal, also breached his
pledge that he would consult the opposition on major national issues.
In response, Lai said Wu did not express a new position on cross-strait
relations, since the proposal is in line with the Constitution and the Act
Governing Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area
(台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
While Lai said that the rhetoric of “one country, two areas” was an
oversimplification of a complex initiative, she added that it did not signal
Taiwan was ready to engage in political talks with China.
Tsai said there had been no official response from Beijing and he did not think
it would address the proposal any time soon.
“I really don’t think the four-word initiative is that serious, since it was
only a proposal,” Tsai said.
While it was “perhaps not a good time for the government to touch upon the
sensitive issue,” Tsai said, any non-government initiative and discussion to
explore possible solutions should be encouraged, because the development of
bilateral relations should continue.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) countered that the proposal ignored the
Constitution and undermined the longstanding principle of “creative ambiguity”
in Taiwan’s dealings with China.
The most dangerous implication in Wu’s remark was not the initiative, but his
comment right after the proposal when he said that cross-strait relations were
not a state-to-state relationship, but a special relationship, DPP Legislator
Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said.
“Because that implied the Republic of China is extinct,” Lin said.
DPP Legislator Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) questioned why Ma unilaterally decided to
propose the initiative when there was no Chinese pressure.
“In my opinion, the move is not helpful to peaceful development across the
[Taiwan] Strait anyway,” Hsu said.
DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) told a press conference earlier that the Act
Governing Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area
was enacted to deal with people-to-people exchanges and not the issue of
Taiwan’s sovereignty.
KMT lawmakers also took shots at the Ma administration, with Chiang Chi-chen
(江啟臣) questioning why it made such a proposal when it maintains that it would
engage Beijing under the so-called “1992 consensus” and “one China with
different interpretations.”
KMT Legislator Chi Kuo-tung (紀國棟) said the KMT was “looking for trouble” with
the proposal, as all sovereignty-related disputes should be set aside for now
because the “time is not right.”
Citing the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) dispute as a reference, Chi said it does
Taiwan no good to raise the issue with Japan right now.
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