A reported plan by Taiwan authorities to write "Taiwan" on the
cover of passports in place of the "Republic of China" drew
attention from Beijing yesterday which says the move was part of a
symbolic inching towards independence.
Zhang Mingqing, spokesman of the State Council Taiwan Affairs
Office, said at a press briefing that the mainland would watch the
move with caution.
"We will keep vigilance and observe what next steps Taiwan
authorities will take," Zhang said.
Zhang expressed hope of resuming cross-Straits talks at an early
date, but insisted that acceptance of the one-China principle and
the 1992 consensus be a prerequisite.
"The possibility of resuming dialogue is always there," he said.
"We can talk at any time, but the key matter is that the Taiwan
authorities refuse to recognize the one-China principle."
Zhang also responded to a report that Taipei's "Mainland Affairs
Council" head Tsai Ying-wen said Beijing should pay more attention
to the "goodwill" voiced by Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian.
Zhang urged Taiwan authorities to cast away illusions of
independence and accept the inevitability of reunification.
Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party administration, of which Chen
is leader, refuses to accept the one-China principle and denies the
existence of the 1992 consensus to that effect.
The one-China principle holds that there is only one China in the
world, both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are parts of it and
Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no separation.
Under the 1992 consensus, an informal agreement reached orally
between the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the
Taiwan Straits and Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation in
November 1992, the two sides of the Straits acknowledge the reality
of the one-China principle.
Semi-official talks have been frozen since 1999, when then Taiwan
leader Lee Teng-hui said the island's ties with the mainland should
be seen as "special state-to-state relations."
Zhang also called for a full opening of trade, transport and
communications across the Taiwan Straits, saying the province has
not reformed enough by allowing direct contacts only between the
mainland and the Kinmen and Matsu islands.
"The links between the outlying islands (Kinmen and Matsu) can
hardly be counted as a part of 'direct three links,'" Zhang
said.
Taiwan has enforced a ban on direct contact since 1949, when the
Kuomintang lost a civil war and fled to the island.
The ban demands that Taiwanese travelers and goods to the mainland
pass through a third place, usually Hong Kong. This adds time and
expense.
The mainland and Taiwan inaugurated direct links between East
China's coastal Fujian Province and Taiwan's outlying islands of
Kinmen and Matsu in January. Beijing is striving for a bigger goal
of expansion of three links.
"The three direct links are good for the businesses of Taiwan,"
Zhang said.
Aside from the troublesome plan to change the face of passports,
Zhang said Beijing is concerned about textbooks compiled in Taiwan
and used in two mainland schools for Taiwanese children.
These books will lead youngsters astray if they maintain the
separatist and state-to-state theories.
"What we are really concerned about is whether the content is in
accordance with the one-China principle," Zhang said
Turning to some Taiwan business people's preparation for former
Taiwan leader Lee Teng-hui's think-tank, "Taiwan Advocates," Zhang
said business people should have a clear understanding of the
purpose of this separatist organization.
The Taiwan Advocates intended to recruit entrepreneurs, lawmakers
and academics to pursue Taiwan-independence and thwart contacts
between both sides.
(China
Daily December 27, 2001)