Mainland Affairs Council--Press Release
October 15, 2007, No. 87
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 peoples 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 Taiwans democratic efforts as the pursuit
of "de jure Taiwan independence," then Chinas such an interpretation is not
only a distortion of Taiwans efforts to deepen democracy, but it is also a
manifestation of Chinas 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.