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TAIPEI: Taiwan’s president-elect Ma Ying-jeou said Sunday he
wanted a “mutual non-denial” agreement with China and
vowed to work to lay the groundwork for a century of peace and
prosperity.
Speaking the morning after sweeping to a
landslide victory, Ma promised to improve relations with
China—which still claims sovereignty over Taiwan—but said he had
no plans to visit anytime soon.
In a wide-ranging news conference here, he also
reiterated his support for autonomy for Tibet in the wake of
China’s military crackdown in the Himalayan region.
The Harvard-educated opposition Kuomintang
candidate won 58 percent of the vote Saturday, trouncing his ruling
party challenger by almost 17 points and earning the congratulations
of US President George Bush.
Ma said he backed a 1992 consensus between
Beijing and Taipei, under which both accepted the formula of ‘one
China’ but agreed to interpret it in their own way.
“The sovereignty issue has been the most
intractable issue across the Taiwan Strait,” Ma acknowledged.
“It’s a question between conflicting claims.”
He said the old policy of each side denying the
other’s right to exist was in the past, but mutual recognition was
“out of the question” too.
Mutual non-denial was the middle road—”we
will not deny their existence but we cannot recognize their
sovereignty” over Taiwan.
China has threatened an invasion if Taiwan
declares independence, leaving the US-allied island in a murky
limbo.
Ma has vowed to work to improve trade, tourism
and transport links and to work for a peace treaty to end decades of
hostilities since Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949 after a
civil war.
By returning to the 1992 consensus, he said,
“we can move ahead to other urgent, less intractable issues.”
“We want to make sure we are not negotiating
Taiwan’s future . . . Taiwan’s identity has to be respected. We
will negotiate with each other on an equal footing,” he went on.
Trust him, he said, urging voters to re-elect
him in four years’ time, and “if you give me eight years I will
lay the foundation for a century of peace and prosperity.”
However Ma—who formally takes office on May
20—said he had “no plans” to visit China.
“We want to work on substantive issues. If we
are able to do that we will consider whether a high-level visit is
required.”
The vote had been closely watched by Beijing and
Washington for signs of a new approach after eight years of
recurring tensions under outgoing President Chen Shui-bian.
Ma had made improving ties with Beijing a
cornerstone of his platform for the KMT, and that—coupled with
concern over the stuttering economy—swept him to victory.
Bush, in a written message, said Ma’s win was
a fresh chance for bilateral relations with the mainland.
“I believe the election provides a fresh
opportunity for both sides [China and Taiwan] to reach out and
engage one another in peacefully resolving their differences,” he
added.
Ma said he wanted to negotiate three issues with
China: winning an economic cooperation agreement; a peace accord
including military confidence-building measures to avoid a
flashpoint incident; and Taiwan’s diplomatic status on the world
stage.
“These are very ambitious plans which will
require the other side’s goodwill, but we have no choice,” he
said.
On Tibet, Ma said the Tibetan spiritual leader
Dalai Lama would be “more than welcome” to visit Taiwan again.
“I think he is a moderate person, very
persuasive. That is why I support his idea for autonomy for
Tibet,” he said. China has refused to talk to the Dalai Lama and
accuses his “cliqué” of orchestrating unrest there.
Ma’s victory, together with the KMT’s
crushing defeat over the Democratic Progressive Party in January’s
parliamentary elections, restores his party to political dominance
in Taiwan, eight years after Chen ended its half-century grip on
power.
-- AFP
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