Stance on China Deal Not a Concession, Taiwan Says

HONG KONG —  Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian appeared to edge closer to accepting Beijing’s cherished “one China” principle this week, but a top aide Wednesday dismissed talk of any major new concession in the island’s dealings with Beijing.

In a meeting Tuesday with a delegation of American visitors, Chen said he was willing to adhere to a compromise struck in 1992 that allowed Beijing and Taipei to agree that there is “one China,” but to disagree on the phrase’s meaning. After that compromise was made, the two sides started several rounds of historic talks, which ultimately broke off last year.

Beijing insists that Chen embrace the “one China” policy as a prerequisite for resuming any negotiations. So far, Taiwan’s new leader has said he is willing to discuss the issue but not set it as a precondition.

Chen’s statement Tuesday was his first public indication that he might accept a version of “one China,” although the idea of resurrecting the 1992 formula has been floating around since his election as president in March.

Newspapers in Taipei, the Taiwanese capital, splashed Chen’s comments on front pages Wednesday. “This is the new government’s most authoritative, sincere and goodwill policy statement,” Lin Chong-pin, vice chairman of the Taiwanese Cabinet’s Mainland Affairs Council, was quoted as saying in the China Times.

But Wednesday night, Lin’s boss, Tsai Ing-wen, rejected speculation that Chen--a former advocate of Taiwanese independence--had moved closer to a rapprochement with Beijing.

“His position has always been consistent,” she told reporters at a hastily arranged news conference.

Many Taiwanese oppose the “one China” policy as formulated by Beijing because they fear that it would implicitly recognize the Beijing regime as the rightful government of all China, with Taiwan as just a small piece of its territory.

“There is no way we can accept this position,” Tsai said.

“The two sides of the [Taiwan] Strait have never reached a consensus on the one-China principle,” she added.

Still, Chen’s comments continued the conciliatory campaign he has pursued since his candidacy for president. He has dropped his calls for independence and portrayed himself as willing to work creatively with the mainland.

Earlier this month, after the two leaders of North and South Korea met after 50 years of enmity between the two nations, Chen invited Chinese President Jiang Zemin to a similar summit, an invitation that China dismissed.