Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Jaushieh Joseph Wu pointed out today (16th) that the Taiwan Government has continued to extended its goodwill to China since May 20. The fierce attacks made by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office yesterday evidently shows that they have grave misunderstandings toward Taiwan’s politics, and have misinterpreted the results of the year-end legislative election. The mainland Chinese authorities have been reluctant to come into contact with the Taiwan Government in the past four and a half years. They do not understand the opinion of the Taiwanese people, and have stubbornly engaged in military intimidations and diplomatic oppression of Taiwan, and thus have repeatedly missed many a window of opportunity. They have recently increased the intensity of the “three warfares,” namely, media warfare, psychological warfare, and legal warfare. They must realize their actions have stirred up a feeling of disgust among the Taiwanese people. The drifting apart between both sides of the Strait is clearly not in conformity to its benefit.
Chairman Wu made the abovementioned remarks during his meeting with visitors from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), including Counselor & Ambassador Richard Fairbanks, Senior Adviser & Ambassador Richard T. McCormack, senior researcher Dr. Gerritt Gong, and Freeman Chair in China Studies Dr. Bates Gill.
Chairman Wu pointed out that President Chen Shui-bian has stated that the Government will establish a Committee for Cross-Strait Peace and Development and will invite with utmost sincerity the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties to jointly map out strategies for cross-strait peace and development. We will continue to make it our goal to pursue peaceful dialogues, and to urge China to engage in a discussion with us on substantial issues that need to be addressed by both sides.
The visitors mentioned the probable prospects of China’s acceleration of its political reform and the democratization in China. Chairman Wu pointed out that if so, then it would be beneficial to the development of cross-strait relations. Taiwan would be pleased to witness a more liberalized and diversified China, but the circumstances are not optimistic in the short term. In September the Fourth Plenum of the 16th CPC Central Committee conducted self-examination on how to reinforce its governance capabilities, but there is still a long way to go from an implementation of genuine political reform.
The visitors also exchanged views with Chairman Wu on other issues such as the investment environment of Taiwanese businessmen in China, the present situation of 0cross-strait trade and economic interactions, and cross-strait academic exchanges. The atmosphere of the one-hour meeting was cordial.