Lien-Hu talks get mixed reception in Taiwan

Lien-Hu talks get mixed reception in Taiwan

Baker Li, Reuters/Taipei

Taiwan opposition leader Lien Chan's landmark meeting with
Chinese President Hu Jintao won mixed reviews at home on
Saturday, with some newspapers praising his peace effort and
others accusing Lien of selling out Taiwan.

The mainland press, meanwhile, hailed Friday's encounter in
Beijing as a "major step", but said the six-decade-long China-
Taiwan conflict was far from resolved. The Xinhua news agency
said the meeting had been hailed worldwide.

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's pro-independence Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) quickly rejected the assertion there had
been any improvement in China ties, saying that Lien, leader of
the Kuomintang (KMT), had merely strengthened the hand of
Taiwan's military rival.

Lien's KMT and the Chinese Communist Party ended decades of
enmity on Friday with a groundbreaking meeting in Beijing's Great
Hall of the People -- photographs of which were splashed across
the front pages of all the island's major dailies.

The civil war enemies agreed to avoid military conflict in the
Taiwan Strait, one of Asia's most dangerous flashpoints, and to
facilitate the resumption of dialog stalled since 1999.

Lien "sang the notes of peace all the way up to the clouds",
said the mass-circulation China Times in an editorial. "This
means there will be a new round of competition and cooperation in
cross-strait relations under the theme of peace."

A commentary in the mainland Beijing News, however, made clear
that real progress towards peace with self-ruled Taiwan, over
which China claims sovereignty, depended on government-level
talks, meaning involvement of Chen and the ruling DPP.

"Only if the two sides can resume talks, negotiate the formal
end of hostilities and sign a peace agreement will the conditions
be ripe for lasting peace and stability," the daily said.
Lien was the first KMT (Nationalist Party) leader to set foot in
China since the KMT mainland government was toppled by Mao
Zedong's Communist armies and fled to Taiwan in 1949.

His party supports eventual unification with a democratic
China.

While Lien said he was on a "journey of peace" to improve
relations, he came under fire at home for kowtowing to Beijing so
soon after it enacted an anti-secession law, which sanctioned war
against Taiwan -- officially the Republic of China -- if it
pushed for formal statehood.

"We had not expected Lien Chan to speak for the Republic of
China, or Taiwan, after he returned to the motherland. But
surprisingly, he wanted to sell out the Republic of China and
Taiwan together," said the pro-independence Liberty Times.

"Establishing a communication platform between the Republic of
China and Communist China underlines the fact that he joins hands
with the communists," the editorial said.

The DPP accused Lien of helping China's divide-and-conquer
strategy. Beijing refuses to deal with Chen's government and is
trying to isolate him by engaging opposition politicians.

"The biggest regret is that the KMT went to China but did not
express Taiwan people's dislike of the anti-secession law," said
DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang. "They did a big favor for Hu Jintao
by helping to reduce the pressure against the anti-secession law,
and achieved the goal of dividing Taiwan."

At Friday's talks, Lien and Hu agreed to discuss a common
market, increase and guarantee investment and trade across the
Strait and smooth exports of Taiwan farm produce to China. Some
commentators said the onus was now on Chen to follow through.

"It is not appropriate for President Chen to veto or give
negative judgment like his past reactions. If his words go too
far or are unpleasant to hear, it will take a longer time to go
back to the path in the future," the United Daily News said.

But Premier Frank Hsieh said opposition parties should let the
government handle China policy, criticizing the KMT for reaching
a consensus with Beijing so quickly while holding up domestic
policies in the opposition-controlled parliament.

"I think they managed to reach a consensus in four or five
minutes," Hsieh said of the Lien-Hu meeting. "But in our
Legislative Yuan, the budget takes four or five months, and there
are other public works still pending."

Lien left Beijing on Saturday for Xian, a former imperial
capital southwest of Beijing where he was born and his
grandmother is buried. He flies on Sunday to Shanghai, the last
stop on his mainland tour.