The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) solemnly indicated today (May 31, 2006) that adhering to the national identity of Taiwan and preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait have been the Taiwanese government's consistent positions and the core spirit of its current cross-strait policy. Public opinion surveys conducted over the years have highlighted that the overwhelming majority of the Taiwanese people are in favor of the development of normalized cross-strait relations under the precondition that national security is ensured. The recently released 2006 National Security Report mainly emphasized this basic thinking, which is consistent with the U.S., Japan and other countries. The report also clearly explained the fact that China poses an increasingly serious threat to Taiwan through its military deployment and non-peaceful means. It aims to increase international and domestic understanding of the present national security situation facing the Taiwanese government and its people, and to win support for the responsible and pragmatic attitude and actions taken by the Taiwanese government in managing cross-strait relations. China's Taiwan Affairs Office’s response to the 2006 National Security Report today proved that China is unwilling to face up to the crux of the problem in cross-strait relations. Instead, it has intentionally covered up the fact that it is the main source of cross-strait tension and the biggest obstacle to the development of cross-strait relations. China's response fully showed that China’s Taiwan policy not only remains rigid, but it also lacks any substantive sincerity to improve cross-strait relations.
The MAC stated that the implementation of direct cross-strait transportation links is an established policy of the Taiwanese government. The government is willing to resolve related matters through cross-strait negotiations under the principles of firmly upholding Taiwan’s national sovereignty and the exercise of government authority, as well as in consideration of overall national interests and security and the long-term welfare of the people. The MAC indicated that Taiwan has consistently adopted a proactive and steady attitude in promoting direct cross-strait transportation links. However, China has repeatedly avoided and delayed conducting related negotiations, thus making it impossible to meet the expectations of the public. Although it is currently unfeasible to concretely implement direct transportation links, the Taiwanese government has actively taken actions on cross-strait charter flights. It hopes that these actions will produce concrete results to facilitate the promotion of regular cross-strait cargo and passenger charter flights.
With regard to the cross-strait agricultural issues, the MAC reiterated that the Taiwanese government has not only commissioned a designated contact window, but it has also conducted communication and liaison for a period of time. However, China has only responded with verbal propaganda so far. China has openly engaged in psychological welfare against Taiwan by voicing its opinions and issuing irrelevant statements that have no substantive content. It has also constantly sought to unilaterally designate the organizations in Taiwan with which it will conduct negotiations with, while avoiding the contact window designated by Taiwan. It is apparent that China intends to deprive the Taiwanese government of its authority by creating internal contradictions in Taiwan. The MAC appealed to the Chinese authorities that if they are truly sincere, they should respect Taiwan's designated contact window, make a concrete response to Taiwan’s proposals through the windows designated by each side, and actively conduct cross-strait negotiations on related issues. This kind of concrete and positive response is something that can be seen and experienced by the people across the Strait and the international community. It is unnecessary to make exhaustive efforts to recruit irrelevant persons to make regular irresponsible remarks aimed at shifting the focus.