Chinese President Hu Jintao's?four-point guideline on the
Taiwan issue has helped cement the bedrock for mainland-Taiwan
relations' peaceful and stable development, said some lawmakers and
advisors on Sunday, while a national parliamentary session
spokesman warned of "severe challenges" to the ties this year.
The guideline, Hu put forward at a panel discussion of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National
Committee's annual session on March 4, 2005, "enriched the
mainland's policies toward Taiwan and left a far-reaching impact on
keeping peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," said CPPCC
National Committee member Shi Sihao, counselor of the All-China
Federation of Taiwan Compatriots.
In the guideline, Hu said that the mainland will "never sway in
adhering to the one-China principle, never give up efforts to seek
peaceful reunification, never change the principle of placing hope
on the Taiwan people, never compromise in opposing 'Taiwan
Independence'."
The four "nevers" were set forth in a consideration of the
actual situation of the cross-Strait relations and have benefited
compatriots on both sides, said Shi on the sideline of the CPPCC
National Committee's annual session that opened here on
Saturday.
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Thanks to the mainland's active implementation of Hu's guideline,
Shi said, the past two years witnessed deepened cooperation and
exchanges between the two sides, featuring the ice-breaking
dialogues between the Communist Party of China and Taiwan-based
Kuomintang, or the Chinese Nationalist Party, which was then
followed by the People First Party and the New Party.
The two sides also saw improved cooperation in trade, tourism,
education and other sectors. The indirect trade volume between the
mainland and Taiwan hit a record US$100 billion last year, and
Taiwan residents made more than 4.4 million visits to the mainland
while the figure for mainland visits to Taiwan topped 200,000.
The two sides also expanded the charter flight program,
initially only for the Spring Festival, to other traditional
Chinese holidays.
However, at a press conference ahead of the annual full session
of the National People's Congress, which is slated to open on
Monday, spokesman Jiang Enzhu said the cross-Strait ties will face
"severe challenges" in 2007 in spite of the peaceful and stable
momentum last year, as Taiwan authorities' efforts to seek "de jure
independence" through the so-called "constitutional reform" might
enter into a "substantive" stage.
A series of "de-sinicizing" moves recently adopted by the Taiwan
authorities in an apparent push for secession showed strains on
mainland-Taiwan relations were lurking around, said Jiang.
Two elections in Taiwan, namely the election of the "Legislative
Yuan" at the end of this year and the Taiwan leader election in
2008, are expected to bring changes to the political environment on
the island, he said.
"(But) no difficulties may challenge our faith in maintaining
the peaceful development of the cross-Straits relations, nor can
any new troubles sway our determination to check 'Taiwan
independence'," Jiang said.
Citing the applause from Taiwan farmers last June when the
mainland bought 200 tons of bananas from them, part of the
agricultural cooperation package between the two sides, Chen
Jiande, an NPC deputy of Taiwan origin, said the expanded and
deepened exchanges fully demonstrated the care and love for Taiwan
compatriots from the mainland.
The theme of Hu's four-point guideline is peace and development,
and accords with the interests of Taiwan compatriots, Chen
said.
Cross-Strait relations become a hot topic when the country's
lawmakers and political advisors convene to discuss the
government's policies at their annual full sessions each year.
"The two sessions this year will further rally our willpower to
propel the peaceful and stable development of cross-Strait
relations in the mutual benefits of both sides," said CPPCC
National Committee member Xu Shiquan, deputy director of the
National Research Institute of Taiwan.
(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2007)