China offers 'goodwill gesture' to Taiwan

China offers 'goodwill gesture' to Taiwan

BEIJING (Reuters): China has made a "major goodwill gesture"
to Taiwan by slightly softening its conditions for talks on
establishing full trade and transport links across the Taiwan
Strait, the official China Daily reported on Saturday.

It said a senior official had stressed Beijing's willingness
to be pragmatic following the tentative opening of some links
across the Strait earlier this week rather than insisting Taiwan
accept it was part of "one China" before talks could begin.

It quoted He Shizhong of the cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office
as saying that as long as the so-called "three small links"
opened up this week were "conducted as internal affairs within
one country, we will take pragmatic steps to work with them".

Beijing had insisted that arch rival Taiwan accept the "one
China" principle before talks on establishing full trade and
transport links could begin.

"The positive new overture should push forward more direct
contact between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland," said the China
Daily, the English-language Communist Party newspaper.

Busy

The apparent move forward followed the first direct, legal
voyages across the Strait in 51 years when three Taiwan ships
made short trips from outlying Taiwan-held islands to the
mainland's southeastern province of Fujian on Tuesday.

It also came during talks between delegations from two Taiwan
opposition parties and senior Chinese officials in Beijing and a
comment from powerful Vice Premier Qian Qichen which Washington
saw as positive.

The Washington Post on Friday quoted Qian as saying in an
interview that any formula could be discussed, including a loose
confederation, to reunify mainland China and Taiwan, separated
since the end of a civil war in 1949.

"He went on to say that China has adopted 'a pragmatic and
more inclusive' version of its long-standing one-China policy,"
the newspaper added.

Last Sunday, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian urged China to
pursue lasting peace by abandoning military threats and the
comments from both sides seemed to please Washington.

"We believe that President Chen's and Vice Premier Qian's
recent comments are constructive. We would encourage the two
sides to make every effort to bridge their differences," State
Department Richard Boucher said.

Nevertheless, the week's events across the Taiwan Strait have
served to emphasize Beijing's policy of ignoring Chen, whose
Democratic Progressive Party espouses independence, and courting
Taiwan businessmen and the opposition.

His name has not been mentioned by Chinese media this week as
they lauded the visit of delegations from Taiwan's opposition
Nationalist and New parties to push for the establishment of full
links.

Beijing has long demanded that full trade, transport and
postal links -- the "three big links" -- be opened up across the
Taiwan Strait and accepted only grudgingly Taipei's softening of
its ban on all three by allowing Tuesday's trips.

Taiwan, apparently fearing full-blown links would allow
Communist China to launch a creeping turnover of an island it
sees as a renegade province, has kept tight control of the "small
links", allowing only Taiwan ships to cross the Strait legally.

China says Taiwan must be reunified, by force if necessary,
although it is some months since it repeated publicly the threat
to invade.

Nevertheless, the pressure appears to be mounting on Chen, who
avoids acceptance of the "one China principle" in fear it might
commit the island to reunification.