At the invitation of the Ketagalan Institute, MAC Chairperson Jaushieh Joseph Wu on Saturday gave a lecture on the theme, "Peace and Development: Creating a New Era of Cross-Strait Relations," in the "Second Seminar on Grassroots Leadership and Local Development" comprised of more than 100 trainees from Kaohsiung City and the southern counties of Kaohsiung, Pingtung, and Penghu. Chairperson Wu provided an analysis of the present cross-Strait trend from four major perspectives, namely, the military antagonism between both sides of the Strait, the Mainland's oppression of Taiwan's diplomatic affairs, Taiwan's democratic development, and the present situation of cross-Strait exchanges.
Chairperson Wu stated that the Mainland's military has undergone rapid modernization and aimed to achieve its political goals through its exertion of military pressure on Taiwan. Under this military pressure from the Mainland, Taiwan should build up its military defense capability, promote regional peace in East Asia, seek international support, and promote for the establishment of a cross-Strait military mutual trust mechanism, to prevent accidental conflict and minimize the effects that might be caused by the military disequilibrium between both sides of the Strait.
Chairperson Wu pointed out that the Mainland has been oppressing Taiwan's foreign relations by denying our status as a sovereign state, disrupting our relationships with our diplomatic allies, interfering with our substantial exchanges with countries with which we do not have diplomatic relations, and boycotting our participation in international organizations and in any of their activities. Facing this diplomatic oppression from the Mainland, the people of Taiwan should exert an effort to actively develop foreign relations, and appeal to the international community to acknowledge the fact of the existence of the Republic of China. We urge the Mainland to stop hurting the Taiwanese people and listen to their voices.
Chairperson Wu emphasized that the Mainland should not simplify the major democratic reforms in Taiwan as Taiwan independence. This misunderstanding would lead to the Mainland's formulation of erroneous policies and fail to win the support of the Taiwan people. "Empathy" is the basic conviction of the Taiwan Government's Mainland policy after May 20. The maintenance of stability and the status quo being the joint responsibility of both sides of the Strait, the Government should hold on to a "spirit of goodwill, active cooperation, and permanent peace" in the future to create a framework of interaction for cross-Strait peace and stability and to push for all forms of cross-Strait exchanges and negotiations.