Jiang urges Taiwan to restart talks

Jiang urges Taiwan to restart talks

Tamora Vidaillet and Alice Hung, Reuters, Beijing/Taipei

Chinese Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin said on Friday that
China and Taiwan should put aside political differences to resume
talks, an offer swiftly welcomed by Taiwan as long as there are
no pre-conditions.

But in a 90-minute speech to the opening of a pivotal five-
yearly congress, Jiang upheld Beijing's right to use force
against Taiwan and drew the longest applause from more than 2,000
delegates for his pointed message to the island.

Taiwan has been under self-rule since 1949, when the
Nationalist army led by Chiang Kai-shek fled there to escape Mao
Zedong's Communist forces, which seized control of mainland
China.

China has considered the island a renegade province ever
since.

"On the basis of the one-China principle, let us shelve for
now certain political disputes and resume the cross-Strait dialog
and negotiations as soon as possible," Jiang said.

Taiwan reacted swiftly to Jiang's efforts to reignite
political ties that have been on hold since July 1999, when then-
Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui enraged Beijing by redefining ties
as "special state to state".

"Holding talks has been our consistent position," said Chen
Ming-tong, spokesman and vice chairman of the Taiwan cabinet's
Mainland Affairs Council that formulates the island's China
policy.

"Under a situation where there are no prerequisites and no
preconditions, we can sit down and talk about anything. We urge
the Chinese communists to face as soon as possible the fact that
the Republic of China exists," Chen said, using the official name
Taiwan gives itself.

"We hope the new generation of mainland leaders can deal with
cross-Strait relations in a more practical manner," he said.

Ties have long been tested by Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian,
a man Beijing suspects of wanting independence.

But they appeared to have improved after Beijing said in
appeals to Taiwan to allow direct trade, transport and postal
links with the mainland that such links could be referred to as
"cross-Strait" rather than a "domestic" issue.

China says talks over what have been dubbed the "three links"
should take place at non-governmental level, but Chen has said
the talks should involve government officials.

Jiang made fresh calls to Taiwan to cement already flourishing
economic ties.

"There is every reason to take practical and positive steps to
promote such direct links and open up new prospects for cross-
Strait economic cooperation," he said.

Bringing Taiwan back into the fold has been a key aim of Jiang
Zemin and is expected to be a key focus even if he retires as
party general secretary this month and as China's president when
government posts change hands next March.

"On re-starting talks with Taiwan, that's one thing that Jiang
really hopes is going to be part of his legacy," said one Western
diplomat.

"Deng brought Hong Kong and Macau back into the fold, Jiang
wants to bring Taiwan in."

But Jiang upheld Beijing's right to use force if necessary.
"Our position of never undertaking to renounce the use of force
is not directed at our Taiwan compatriots," he said. "It is aimed
at the foreign forces' attempts to interfere in China's
reunification and the Taiwan separatist forces' schemes for
'Taiwan independence'."