Kuomintang (KMT) leader Lien Chan said Monday that his party and
the Communist Party of China (CPC) have agreed to set up two forums
to facilitate the establishment of regular inter-party
exchanges.
One forum will center on cross-Straits peace and development and
the other will be devoted to economic, trade and cultural exchanges
between the two sides, the KMT chairman noted.
Lien made the remarks at a news conference while elaborating on
consensus reached in a joint communique issued on Friday following
his historic talks with Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC
Central Committee.
The CPC and KMT will work together to establish a platform for
regular party-to-party communications at all levels, Lien told
reporters.
The KMT Central Committee and the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC
Central Committee have been entrusted with the effort.
"Such forums aim to exchange views, build consensus and offer
advice for both sides of the Straits," Lien said.
The 69-year-old leader, who is the first KMT chairman to visit
the mainland in 56 years, stressed that others will also be invited
to attend the talks.
Leading a 60-member delegation, Lien arrived in Shanghai on the
last leg of his eight-day, four-city mainland trip. The delegation
will leave for Taipei this afternoon.
At the news briefing, he highlighted other breakthroughs,
including saying that the mainland had for the first time agreed to
promote the signing of a peace accord and the establishment of a
mechanism for military mutual trust across the Straits.
Such a move suggests the ideas, which used to be unilateral
Taipei proposals, have met with a "positive response" from the CPC,
Lien said.
"We hope the Taiwan government will actively prepare for
implementation of the consensus through cross-Straits dialogue," he
said.
KMT spokesman Chang Yung-kung later said his party, through the
current mainland visit, has found a correct path for Taiwan to
follow.
"We are not faced with only one way of moving towards
cross-Straits confrontation, hostility and even collision. Rather,
we can choose an alternative way of promoting reconciliation,
peaceful co-existence and common development," said Chang.
He was apparently referring to the attempt by the ruling
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration to push for
"Taiwan independence."
At a luncheon hosted by local Taiwan business people Monday,
Lien urged greater efforts to push forward cross-Straits economic
cooperation.
He said the mainland has become one of the most important
manufacturing markets in the world after two decades of fast
economic growth.
Such changes cannot be neglected just because of strong ideology
and out-dated thinking, he said.
Taiwan should make a critical decision to set up a framework for
economic cooperation with the mainland as soon as possible, he
said.
The need is absolutely required, given the highly complementary
nature of the two sides.
He pointed to the proposed establishment of a cross-Straits
common market in the KMT-CPC communique, saying the proposal can
help avoid "unnecessary disputes."
The mainland has proposed building a closer economic partnership
arrangement (CEPA) with Taiwan, modeling its economic cooperation
after Hong Kong and Macao.
But Taipei insists on signing a free trade agreement (FTA) with
the mainland as an attempt to promote its identification as an
independent country.
The KMT leader suggested the proposed common market should have
the same contents as an FTA and should be more easily accepted by
both sides.
(China Daily May 3, 2005)