January 11, 2005, No. 007
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Jaushieh Joseph Wu received a German parliamentary delegation in the afternoon today (11th), and stated that China’s recent enactment of an Anti-Separation Law and its release of a 2004 White Paper on National Defense have undoubtedly caused serious threat to Taiwan. China’s National People’s Congress has resolved to review and deliberate on the Anti-Separation Law in March this year (2005). If Germany could express its stance in supporting Taiwan on this issue and oppose the enactment of this Law, it would help the Mainland Chinese authorities to understand that other countries are concerned with the peace across the Taiwan Strait. Chairman Wu emphasized that although Taiwan and Mainland China have had a long history of conflicts, any differences should be resolved through peaceful dialogues rather than the use of force.
Moreover, Chairman Wu also expressed profound gratitude for the German parliament’s passage of a resolution at the end of October last year (2004) opposing the lifting of the arms embargo to China. Chairman Wu pointed out that the European Union’s lifting of the arms embargo, especially at a time when China is drawing up an Anti-separation Law, would send China a wrong message that Europe encourages its military threat against or invasion of Taiwan. Chairman Wu urged and requested the European nations to carefully handle the matter to avoid military imbalance across the Strait. The delegation also expressed agreement in this regard.
Chairman Wu further pointed out that even if the present cross-strait relations are hostile, the Government has continued to extend its goodwill and show its sincerity in improving the cross-strait relations. Thus the promotion of this year’s Lunar New Year charter flights is a concrete measure of expressing the Government’s goodwill. Chairman Wu also ardently hoped that “flights from the other side of the Strait would come to Taiwan.” Moreover, Chairman Wu stated that, “Cross-strait negotiations on non-political issues that are feasible may be conducted immediately. Through dialogues and negotiations, there will soon come a day when cross-strait relations will turn from being competitive and antagonistic into one that is cooperative and peaceful.” The guests were also expressing concern over a delegation formed by Kuomintang (KMT) legislators to visit Beijing for the negotiations on the Lunar New Year charter flights. Moreover, they also expressed the hope that both sides of the Strait could resume government-to-government dialogues as soon as possible, to enable cross-strait relations to proceed toward normalization.
The four-man visiting German parliamentary delegation was headed by the member of Parliament Axel Fischer, and was accompanied by Director-General Ulrich Dreesen of the Germans Institute in Taipei. They had an enthusiastic exchange of views with Chairman Wu on issues such as Taiwan’s national security and cross-strait trade and economic exchanges. They also invited Chairman Wu to visit Germany again in the immediate future. The atmosphere of the approximately fifty-minute meeting was friendly.