October 15, 2007, No. 87
MAC’s response to Taiwan-related portions of the 17th CPC National Congress report
In response to the contents of the "political report" delivered today (October 15, 2007) by Communist Party of China (CPC) General Secretary Hu Jintao at the opening of the 17th National Congress of the CPC, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) reiterates that Taiwan's sovereignty belongs to the 23 million Taiwanese people, and that the future of Taiwan should be decided by the 23 million Taiwanese people of their own accord. This is the unswerving position and consensus among the Taiwanese people. Indeed, China's unilateral imposition of its "one China" principle on the Taiwanese people is presently the biggest obstacle to cross-strait relations.
The MAC indicates that Taiwan is now making efforts to deepen its democracy, and it hopes to see China usher in a new era of democratic development as soon as possible. However, this "political report" lacks any plans regarding true democratic reforms, since overall power of the country remains in the hands of the CPC's autocratic leaders. This not only runs counter to global trends of thought and universal values of freedom, democracy and human rights, but also fails to meet the Chinese people’s expectations for political reforms. Moreover, it restricts the possibility of building a modernized society in China. The one-party dictatorship of this kind established under the cover of false democracy cannot bring long-term development for China, nor can it bring true cross-strait peace.
The MAC emphasizes that Hu Jintao's statement that the "one China" principle is the political foundation for the peaceful development of cross-strait relations totally disregards the reality. Taiwan insists that the realization of democracy is the true foundation for pursuing peace and development across the Strait. Taiwan calls on the Chinese authorities to discard the rigid thinking of their Taiwan policy as soon as possible and pragmatically face up to the fact that Taiwan and China have no jurisdiction over each other. If China still believes that the Taiwanese people can accept the "one country, two systems" formula, then it is ignorant of public opinion in Taiwan. And if China still interprets Taiwan’s democratic efforts as the pursuit of "de jure Taiwan independence," then China’s such an interpretation is not only a distortion of Taiwan’s efforts to deepen democracy, but it is also a manifestation of China’s attempts at finding an excuse to use the "anti-separation law" as a so-called legal basis for launching military attacks against Taiwan.
The MAC believes that, in his "political report" to the 17th CPC National Congress, Hu Jintao talks glibly about working for the welfare of compatriots on both sides across the Strait and placing hope on the Taiwanese people; however, China's actual actions have been proven to be no more than paying lip service. It is also diametrically opposed to the true demands and thinking of Taiwanese people. In fact, China has repeatedly created difficulties for those important issues that need to be addressed by both sides, thus stalling the progress in the negotiations. If China is truly sincere about benefiting the people of Taiwan, it should act pragmatically, eliminate impractical political obstacles and calculations, and, on the basis of current negotiations, complete negotiations with Taiwan on the issues of cross-strait cargo and passenger charter flights and the opening of Taiwan to Chinese tourists. If China's political obstacles to the issues concerning functional and economic affairs cannot be eliminated, then further cross-strait talks on the "Three Links" and the establishment of a framework for cross-strait peace and development are bound to be futile.
The MAC urges China to clearly understand the history and reality that both sides of the Taiwan Strait have no jurisdiction over each other, to abandon its "one China" framework, to abolish the "anti-separation law," to stop suppressing Taiwan in the international arena, and to withdraw the military deployment targeting Taiwan. It also urges China to engage in formal negotiations with Taiwan's democratically elected government as soon as possible to facilitate the normal development of cross-strait relations and the elimination of hostility across the Taiwan Strait, so as to achieve true peace and stability across the Strait. The Taiwanese government also hopes that the Chinese authorities will at an early date identify with the basic values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, as well as pragmatically launch relevant internal political reforms and advance democratization. This is the only way to achieve permanent peace, coexistence and co-prosperity in the Taiwan Strait.