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Ma knew Lien’s
thoughts: aide
MESSENGER? The head of Lien Chan’s office said
that Lien had called on President Ma to face the challenges of cross-strait
development and to address political issues
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan’s (連戰) office
yesterday said that Lien had discussed his thoughts on cross-strait developments
with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) prior to his visit to Beijing, dismissing the
Presidential Office’s claim that the two did not discuss Lien’s remarks.
The dispute over whether Lien had discussed his remarks with Ma was sparked
when, in Lien’s meeting with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing
on Monday, Lien said that cross-strait relations should be based on the
principles of “the ‘one China’ framework, cross-strait peace, mutual interest
and integration, and the revitalization of the Zhonghua minzu (中華民族) [Chinese
ethnic group].”
Lien’s “one China” remarks, together with another comment that political
negotiation is unavoidable for the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, raised
concerns about the government moving toward unification.
Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Chia-fei (李佳霏) has denied that Lien was
serving as Ma’s messenger and that his remarks represented the government’s
cross-strait policy. She also said that Lien did not mention the “one China”
remark to Ma when they met at the Presidential Office before Lien’s trip.
The head of Lien’s office, Ting Yuan-chao (丁遠超), yesterday disputed the
Presidential Office’s claims, saying that Lien had called on Ma to face the
challenges of cross-strait development and address political issues, which are
unavoidable.
“Mr Lien had told President Ma about his trip to Beijing and his thoughts on
cross-strait development when he met with him on Lunar New Year’s Day. They
discussed cross-strait issues that could challenge the government and the
president said he was optimistic about Mr Lien’s visit to Beijing,” Ting said.
Ting dismissed criticism from the opposition about Lien’s description of Taiwan
as a troublemaker in the international community and said that Lien was
stressing that Taiwan is no longer a troublemaker.
Lien led a delegation of Taiwanese businesspeople and politicians on a four-day
trip to Beijing on Sunday and he met with Xi and outgoing Chinese President Hu
Jintao (胡錦濤) during his visit.
Both Lien and the Presidential Office said that the trip was non-official, but
Lien meeting with China’s two top leaders received much media attention and his
remarks sparked a furor at home.
Lee yesterday reiterated that Ma did not ask Lien to convey any messages to the
Chinese government, but added that Ma respected “Lien’s observations about
cross-strait development” during their meeting.
“If chairman Lien’s aide meant that Lien was discussing his thoughts on
cross-strait relations, the Presidential Office respects their comments … during
their meeting, President Ma did listen to chairman Lien’s opinions about
cross-strait relations,” she said.
In an attempt to play down the dispute, she said Ma had expressed his respect
and optimism about Lien’s visit to China as a non-government official.
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