Time to Use Our Heads to Resolve Real Problems

Time to Use Our Heads to Resolve Real Problems
China Times Editorial (Taipei, China)
A Translation
May 31, 2008

Call it breaking the ice. Call it melting the ice. The leaders of the ruling parties on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait finally met yesterday amidst an atmosphere of goodwill. They agreed to resume talks between the SEF and ARATS in mid-June. The mainland will open up four locations for direct flights from Taoyuan's CKS Airport. In an unprecedented move, CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao personally committed to negotiate with Taipei over increasing the ROC's international space. This must await follow-up consultations by the SEF and ARATS before it becomes official of course. But the success of the Wu Hu Meeting has already created an optimistic atmosphere for the SEF and ARATS negotiations comin up in June. The check the KMT issued, promising direct charter flights and the arrival of mainland tourists by July, may not bounce after all.

Watching the KMT and CCP party hierarchy shake hands and exchange ritual greetings was emotionally overwhelming. These two political parties have been locked in a life and death struggle for over half a century. How many historical grievances have they accumulated? How many lives have been lost? How many families have been torn apart? Today the leaders of the two parties are citing peace as their highest value. They are vowing to put the interests of the people first. Looking back at these struggles between the KMT and the CCP, one can't help wondering how many generations have been carried away by these currents of history? To dismiss these struggles with a wave of the hand seems disrespectful. Without this tangled history, there would be no complex and intractable cross-strait problems today. But in the end what can one say, other than "It's all in the past?"

Whatever might have happened, in the end these matters must be left to the historians. How future history will be written, is in the hands of a new generation. Will cross-strait relations move towards peace, reconciliation, dialog, cooperation, and mutual benefit? It all depends on the leaders on both sides. Since the second ruling party change in March, Siew and Hu have met at the Boao Forum, and President Ma has delivered his inaugural address. These made the current Wu Hu Meeting possible. As we can see, the authorities on the two sides used informal contacts as feelers for formal contacts. They invested considerable energy and used considerable discretion. They avoided all sensitive language. They even expressed good faith through the manner in which they presented their positions, making sure the other side could interpret their position in their own manner.

This linguistic sleight of hand is necessary because cross-strait dialogue has been interrupted by prolonged confrontation and stalemate, by a vicious cycle of zero sum provocations and mutual recriminations on the international stage. If the two sides can stop picking each other's arguments apart in an attempt to make political hay, but instead seek the greatest common denominator, they can transform the process into a virtuous circle.

The Wu Hu Meeting is reestablishing bilateral talks as soon as possible. It is authorizing direct charter flights and mainland tourism to Taiwan. It is also confronting the issue of the ROC's international space, particularly membership in the WHO, head on. This was always an issue Taipei would raise, but to which Beijing would give either the cold shoulder or an non-commital response. This time however, Beijing has taken the initiative. It has explicitly stated that once cross-strait consultations resume, "priority will be given to Taiwan's participation in WHO," and that "we should be smart enough to find a solution." These words were spoken by Hu Jintao himself, the highest ranking leader of the CCP. They have ground-breaking significance and deserve our attention.

We need to realize that as long as we do not deliberately bring up sensitive issues, direct flights or mainland tourists are mainly technical issues. But the Republic of China's international space and participation in international organizations is an another matter altogether. These touch upon the core issue of the dispute over sovereignty. Beijing has consistently adopted a hard-line policy in the past. Most of the obstacles to cross-strait reconciliation reside here. Now, on its own initiative, Beijing has offered to begin consultations on this matter. Therefore one can predict with near certainty that the two sides will find a way to enable the ROC to participate in the WHO. This will become the focus of the next stage of cross-strait relations. Can the two sides create a virtuous circle? This will be a key indicator.

in the past neither side was willing to give an inch. The other side always had to do this, that, and the other before one responded in kind. The result was each side would obsess over its own concerns, and no one got to talk about anything. Now the two sides have learned to shelve their differences. Call it what you like. Call it looking the other way. Call it Different Interpretations of One China. At least the two sides are now willing to seek common ground, willing to tackle what is mutually beneficial, and postpone more sensitive issues until the establishment of greater mutual trust. As long as the two sides maintain such a pragmatic attitude, and seek mutually acceptable solutions, they will encounter little difficulty. The KMT vs. CCP struggle is history. So is the cross-strait propaganda war. It is time to resolve issues of substance. It is time to use our heads.

中時電子報
中國時報 　2008.05.30
兩岸應就解決實質問題拚智慧
中時社論

　是破冰也好，是融冰也罷，兩岸執政黨的領導人，日前終於在善意的氛圍下會面了，雙方除了確定六月中旬讓兩岸兩會復談，大陸開放四個定點與桃園直航外，對台灣參與國際空間的問題，中共總書記胡錦濤也首度親口承諾可以商談。當然這都還得要等後續的兩會協商後才算正式拍板，但至少這場吳胡會的成功，已經為六月啟動的兩會協商營造了樂觀的氛圍，國民黨所謂七月落實包機直航與陸客來台的承諾，應該是不會跳票了。

　看到國共兩黨高層握手寒喧的畫面，實在令人感慨萬千！這兩個政黨對立鬥爭了大半個世紀，種下多少歷史恩怨？曾讓多少生靈塗炭？又讓多少家庭分隔兩地？如今兩黨領導人都將「和平」標舉為最高價值，都宣稱要把人民的利益擺在最前面，回首前塵那一頁頁國共鬥爭史，曾讓多少世代的青春歲月、生命記憶，綁在這滾動的大歷史洪流裡？如今這一切俱成歷史陳跡，說它「一切盡付笑談中」好像太輕，但好像也只能說「一切俱往矣」，不是嗎？沒有這一頁複雜糾結的歷史，也就不會有今天這般複雜難解的「兩岸關係」了。

　無論歷史的過往如何，終究還是只能交給史家去評斷。而怎麼書寫未來歷史的任務，還是操持在新世代的手上。該怎麼讓未來的兩岸關係邁向和平的、和解的、對話的，再進一步進展到合作的、互利的狀態，機會其實也全都操在雙方領導人的手中。僅就這一點而論，從三月間二次政黨輪替後，先是博鰲論壇的蕭胡會，然後是馬總統的就職演說，次第再推進到這次的吳胡會，可以看得出來，兩岸執政當局從迂迴試探到正面對話，都付出了相當的心力，雙方都在語言修辭上細心斟酌，所有可能引發彼此敏感聯想的字句都盡量避免；雙方也都在傳達善意的論述上悉心布局，好讓彼此都有各自的詮釋空間。

　某種意義上，這種語言工程的重建是必須的。畢竟兩岸對話的中斷，乃至長期的對立僵持，除了彼此在國際社會零和對抗的挑釁外，很大部分就是肇因於雙方長期惡言相向所形成的惡性循環。當兩岸不再在對方的語言中挑毛病、作文章，而是致力尋找彼此的最大公約數與善意，自然也就轉而形成良性循環了。

　這次的吳胡會，除了確立兩岸盡快復談、盡快落實包機與觀光外，也正面觸及了台灣的國際空間問題，特別是參與ＷＨＯ的問題。這個議題往昔都是台灣這邊片面呼籲，北京那邊不是冷處理就是模糊以對，但這次北京卻主動表態，明示未來啟動兩岸協商後，「可優先討論台灣參加世界衛生組織的問題」，而且認為「應有智慧找到可行的方式」。由於這些話是由中共最高領導人胡錦濤親口說出，其所具有的突破性意義，當然值得重視。

　要知道，直航或觀光只要不在敏感議題上挑剔，剩下就是技術問題了。但台灣國際空間的參與議題則完全不同，它勢必得觸及更核心的主權爭議，過去北京當局對此一貫都採取零和的強硬政策，兩岸和解的障礙有大半也就是卡在這裡。如今北京當局既然主動提出願意就此啟動協商，那麼幾乎就可以確定，兩岸未來怎麼「有智慧的」就台灣參與ＷＨＯ，「找到可行的方式」，將會是各方觀察兩岸關係下一階段進展的焦點，甚至將會是兩岸能否進一步邁向良性循環的關鍵指標。

　不諱言說，兩岸過往都對「前提」的堅持一步不讓，永遠都是「先要對方如何如何……，才能如何如何……」，結果落得雙方都在努力「鑽牛角尖」，最後當然是什麼都談不下去。如今兩岸顯然都學會了暫時擱置爭議，說是「存而不論」也好，說是「各自表述」也罷，至少都願意求同存異，也都願意讓對雙方都有利的部分議題「先行」，等到累積了一定的互信基礎，再往更敏感、更高層次的議題推進，只要維持這種「務實」的態度不變，那麼一步步找出雙方都可以接受的模式，就一點都不困難了。真的，國共鬥爭的年代已經過去了，兩岸政治喊話的年代也該過去了，如今何妨都集中在實質問題的解決上，各自發揮智慧呢！