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Feb 5, 2009

picking up the ball

Looks like the DPP is finally recognizing the importance of a coherent and systematic China policy approach during the Ma era.

DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen announced the decision to set up the "China Affairs Task Force" during a scheduled meeting of the party's Central Standing Committee....

Tsai, who was herself formerly chairwoman of the Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council from 2000 to 2004 under the previous DPP government, named former National Security Council deputy secretary-general Chen Chung-hsin to convene the new committee, whose members will include senior party leaders and legislators, former DPP government officials with experience in China affairs and scholars.

Tung said that Hu's speech represented "three restrictions."

The CPU associate professor stated that Hu aimed to "narrow Taiwan's future" to unification with the PRC and "drew a red line for Ma Ying-jeou" by declaring that "the two sides of the Taiwan Strait will restore unity" and by declaring that cross-strait differences do not involve "sovereignty or the recreation of national territory, but the ending of political antagonism."

"In another words, the unification of China excludes the possibility of a federation or a commonwealth," said Tung.

Second, Tung said that Hu defined the "Consensus of 1992" under the "one China framework" and "drew a second red line against Ma Ying-jeou" by excluding any room for the new president's notion of "mutual non-denial" and by insisting that the two sides are "divided" but not "separate."...

"The DPP must clearly manifest Taiwan's democratic experience and the principle of 'sovereignty rests with the people' under which only the 23 million Taiwan people have the right to decide Taiwan's future," said the DPP spokesman.

Tung's bolded statements are especially refreshing, first because they're absolutely true, if you just read what the China leadership has repeatedly said and never denied; and it demonstrates the DPP is willing to look at what light blues may consider 'pragmatic' approaches, but that the DPP has seen those approaches to be in conflict with China's demands and policies.

1 comment:

Tommy said...

This is good. Do you think it will become anything more influential than a bunch of academics talking to the wind?

It would be nice to have an economic development task force too.... one that offers a more measured alternative to economic development. I hope the DPP can start reclaiming the agenda soon. Only when they start to act like an organised opposition will they start to reclaim widespread support.