Door opens for Taiwan DPP members
( 2002-01-25 09:23 ) (7 )

Vice-President Hu Jintao and Vice-Premier Qian Qichen attend a ceremony to commemorate the seventh anniversary of President Jiang Zemin's important speech on the Taiwan question Jan 24.[newsphoto.com.cn]

Beijing extended its welcome of mainland visits by Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members with a slight adjustment on its policy of refusing to enter into any contact with the pro-independence party.

Vice-Premier Qian Qichen said the broad masses of DPP members should be differentiated from a handful of die-hard separatist elements advocating Taiwan independence.

"We welcome their visit to the mainland in an appropriate capacity, in a bid to promote mutual understanding," said Qian, also a political bureau member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

He urged the DPP to further consider the welfare of the Taiwanese people and to completely abandon its pro-independence party platform to sincerely develop cross-Straits relations.

Since Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian from the DPP took office in May 2000, Beijing has been ruling out the possibility of contacting the DPP as long as the party still enshrines Taiwan independence in its party platform.

Meanwhile, it engages in wide-ranging talks with pro-reunification opposition parties, including the former ruling Kuomintang party, the People First Party and the New Party.

The encouraging move came at a high-profile ceremony Thursday to commemorate the seventh anniversary of President Jiang Zemin's important speech on the Taiwan question.

Vice-President and CPC Central Committee Political Bureau Standing Committee member Hu Jintao, along with more than 300 central government officials and lawmakers from the National People's Congress (NPC), attended the event.

Jiang put forward an eight-point proposal to develop relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits during his speech delivered on January 30, 1995.

The core of Jiang's speech is: adherence to the one-China principle; opposition to "Taiwan independence," "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan;" a vigorous development of cross-Straits relations; and giving impetus to the process of China's peaceful reunification.

Qian apparently based the bold policy change on Beijing's confidence that the basic framework of cross-Straits relations and its development trend has remained unchanged, despite noticeable changes in Taiwan's political situation.

"The Taiwan authorities have suffered from repeated failure in their separatist activities in the world, and the common recognition of one China by the international community has been stable," Qian said.

"The pursuit of peace, stability and development is the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan."

He said that the DPP will be finally forced to give up its pursuit of Taiwan independence due to mounting pressure from within the island and from the international community, saying that confrontation does no good and any pro-independence move is doomed to fail.

The vice-premier strongly warned against attempts by some pro-independence forces to promote "gradual Taiwan independence," which he said is aimed at separating t Taiwanese culture from Chinese culture in the ideological, cultural and educational sectors.

"We will always be on high alert to all pro-independence activities by separatist forces," he said.

Qian reiterated Beijing's hope that both sides will resume cross-Straits talks as soon as possible on the basis of the one-China principle and the 1992 consensus that both sides of the Taiwan Straits should adhere to the one-China principle.

The Taiwan authorities' refusal to accept the one-China principle and 1992 consensus is the sticking point to the stalemate in cross-Straits ties and the source of instability or even crisis in bilateral relations, he said.

"As long as the Taiwan leader takes serious, positive and pragmatic steps on the issue of accepting the 1992 consensus, cross-Straits dialogue and talks can be reopened," he noted.

The vice-premier proposed, for the first time, to establish a mechanism on cross-Straits economic co-operation following Taiwan and the mainland's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"We are willing to listen to advice and suggestions from Taiwan people in all circles about establishing an economic co-operative mechanism and strengthening cross-Straits economic relations," he said.

Chen Yulin, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said Taiwanese investment from Taiwan in the mainland saw the biggest rise last year since 1995, despite a political stalemate in cross-Straits ties.

The number of Taiwanese-funded projects on the mainland reached 4,100 in 2001, with contracted investment of US$6.9 billion, a respective year-on-year increase of 36 per cent and 73 per cent.