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One-China Policy Key to Breaking Deadlock: Official
A senior official for Taiwan affairs Monday reiterated the central government's position that adherence to the one-China principle is the only way out of the current cross-Straits stalemate.
Under the one-China principle, both sides of the Taiwan Straits have equal weight in consultations to discuss the reunification issue, said Li Yafei, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits when he met a delegation from Taiwan's pro-reunification New Party.
The 10-member delegation -- led by a "member of parliament'' in Taiwan, Feng Hu-hsiang -- flew into Beijing on Sunday.
The trip, the first to the mainland in the name of a Taiwan political party, is meant to help bring about a rapprochement between Taiwan and the mainland since the end of the civil war in 1949, Feng said.
Feng said his party opposes any form of "Taiwan independence.'' Both Taiwan and the mainland are parts of China, Feng added.
Li said that association and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation reached a consensus in Hong Kong in November 1992 by agreeing to adhere to the one-China principle.
Going back to this consensus is the starting point for the resumption of talks between the association and the foundation, Li said.
He said some people in Taiwan distort such consensus by coming up with different interpretations of one China, which has placed barriers between the two organizations.
Association Chairman Wang Daohan held a summit with his Taiwanese counterpart, Koo Chen-fu, chairman of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation, in Singapore in 1993, leading to a series of technical negotiations.
Both sides reached the common understanding during talks on routine affairs that each of the two organizations should express that "both sides of the Taiwan Straits adhere to the one-China principle.''
Talks broke off in 1995 after then-Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui visited the United States.
The New Party delegation expressed its hope for the resumption of "Wang-Koo'' talks on the basis of the agreement reached in 1992.
Feng yesterday suggested that a "military mutual-trust mechanism'' across the Straits be established.
Li said such mechanism might be discussed after cross-Straits hostility ends. It all depends on whether Taiwan authorities will adhere to the one-China principle, he said.
On protecting the rights and interests of Taiwan compatriots, Li promised that government departments will continue to provide multiside service.
He said direct postal, commercial and transportation links across the Taiwan Straits is the most pressing issue for safeguarding Taiwan compatriots' rights and interests. Some policies and practices adopted by the Taiwan side blocked those three direct links from becoming a reality.
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