Cross-Straits Future Requires Greater Imagination

Cross-Straits Future Requires Greater Imagination
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China)
A Translation
February 13, 2014

Summary: During the recent Wang Zhang meeting the Mainland media removed the scare quotes when referring to Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council Leader Wang Yu-chi. If during a Ma Xi meeting they use the expression "Taiwan authorities leader Ma Ying-jeou," that too will be perfectly natural. As long as we have the "big roof concept of China," there should be no obstacles to a Ma Xi meeting. Wang Yu-chi spoke at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. He essentially declared that "The Republic of China is an integral part of the one China framework." This may well be interpreted as tentative acceptance of the " big roof concept of China." How is one to make sense of all these loose ends? That will require greater imagination.

Full text below:

MAC Chairman Wang Yu-chi visited the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. He read aloud the official Republic of China funeral oration. He gave a speech at BoAi Plaza, saying that Sun Yat-sen founded the Republic of China, Asia's first democratic republic 103 years ago.

When Chairman Wang spoke, the accompanying officials from Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office deliberately stood to one side. Mainland Chinese on the plaza gathered around to listen. Wang Yu-chi's actions were part of a tacit understanding with the Beijing authorities. This was a major move that marks a turning point in cross-strait relations. It inspires greater confidence in future cross-strait relations. This scenario, assuming it was the result of an understanding reached between the two sides, was a bold and imaginative move by Xi Jinping and Zhang Zhijun.

The Wang Zhang meeting has now adjourned. Zhang Zhijun made a comment that has attracted considerable attention. He said, "To overcome (cross-strait) barriers, we must use our imagination. Not just this (Wang Zhang) meeting, but future cross-strait relations require greater imagination."

Zhang's comment included the phrase "Not just this (Wang Zhang) meeting." Observers have concluded that what Zhang meant was that "a future Ma Xi meeting" will also require greater imagination. We need not interpret Zhang's comment this way. But Zhang did say that the two sides are currently not exercising enough imagination, and that the future "will require greater imagination."

Take negotiations. The 'Wang Zhang meeting made less progress than other recent bilateral talks. The discussion of most issues began with hollow terms as "concrete implementation," "pragmatic handling," "early solution," or "explore possible avenues." On the other hand, Wang and Zhang agreed to address each other by their official titles. They deliberately characterized the meeting as the very first between "one head of government and another." They began the transition from middle men to direct government to government contacts. That is the most significant political statement to emerge from this meeting.

Wang Yu-chi's speech at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum used the official language of the Republican era and represented the views of the "Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council." Wang also delivered an official speech at Nanjing University. This shows that the Wang Zhang meeting has already exceeded most peoples' expectations. Someone once said, "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." Will future historians say that Chairman Wang and Director Zhang changed the cross-strait scenario and the destiny of the two sides?

Consider what the Wang Zhang meeting has already accomplished. Wang and Zhang addressed each other by their official titles. This affirmed the two sides' jurisdiction. Wang Yu-chi visited the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and made an explicit reference to the Republic of China's 103 year long existence. This affirmed the two sides' sovereignty. This scenario amounts to an implicit understanding between the two sides. It means that cross-strait relations are undergoing transition. They are entering a "non-repudiation of each other's sovereignty" and "acknowledgement of each other's jurisdiction" stage. Zhang said "future cross-strait relations require greater imagination." This, perhaps, is precisely the sort of imagination that is required.

During the recent Wang Zhang meeting, the Beijing authorities approached the matter of Wang Yu-chi's official title with caution. Director Zhang Zhijun verbally addressed Wang as "Chairman Wang" or "Chairman Yu-chi." But the Mainland media referred to Wang as "Wang Yu-chi, the head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council." It accepted the term "Mainland Affairs Council," but held back on using the title "chairman." This arrangement suggests that the Mainland media may accept the ROC government's official titles, and that it will no longer use scare quotes around these titles. Not using official titles, but instead using "Taiwan side leader Chiang Yi-hua" also amounts to a major breakthrough. By contrast, Wang Yu-chi's address at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum used Republican era official titles and the national title of the Republic of China. The TAO said "Sun's achievements are a matter of historical record." The recent Wang Zhang meeting, which addressed official titles, jurisdiction, and sovereignty, constitutes an imaginative breakthrough. Its significance is extraordinary.

Addressing each other by their official titles is not merely a matter of jurisdiction. Mere "mutual recognition of the other's jurisdiction" does not address the real problem. One must also deal with the matter of sovereignty. Merely addressing each other by their official titles could even be misinterpreted as "one country on each side." Therefore in order to avoid having the use of official titles misinterpreted as "one country on each side," one must first deal with "cross-strait political relations under conditions in which the nation has yet to be reunified." This is the language of the CCP 18th National Congress Political Report.

The solution to the problem is the "big roof concept of China." Under the big roof concept of China, both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China belong to one China. Their sovereignty both overlaps and coincides.

If the two sides together accept the "big roof concept of China," then the ROC and the PRC are both "part of China." In that case, when officials from the two sides address each other by their official titles, it will not lead to the presumption of "one country on each side." Instead, it will take place under and within the "big roof concept of China."

During the recent Wang Zhang meeting the Mainland media removed the scare quotes when referring to Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council Leader Wang Yu-chi. If during a Ma Xi meeting they use the expression "Taiwan authorities leader Ma Ying-jeou," that too will be perfectly natural. As long as we have the "big roof concept of China," there should be no obstacles to a Ma Xi meeting. Wang Yu-chi spoke at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. He essentially declared that "The Republic of China is an integral part of the one China framework." This may well be interpreted as tentative acceptance of the " big roof concept of China." How is one to make sense of all these loose ends? That will require greater imagination.

兩岸未來 需要更大的想像力
【聯合報╱社論】
2014.02.13 04:02 am

陸委會主委王郁琦謁中山陵，宣讀民國紀元及署名官銜的祭文，並在博愛廣場發表談話稱，國父孫中山創建的亞洲第一個民主共和國中華民國，現在已一○三年了。

王主委談話時，陪同的北京國台辦官員刻意避開，廣場上的大陸民眾則圍聚聆聽。若王郁琦此一動作是在北京當局的默契之中，這將是一個扭轉兩岸格局的大動作，也令人對兩岸未來的新境界增添了信心。這個場景，若是出自雙方默契，真堪謂是習近平與張志軍的一個充滿想像空間的大手筆。

王張會落幕，張志軍留下了餘音繞梁的一句話。他說：「要破解（兩岸）一些難題的話，我們必須要有一點想像力；不僅是這樣的會見（王張會），對兩岸未來的發展，也應有更大的想像力。」

由於他話中帶到「不僅是王張會」，因而此語被解讀為是對「未來的馬習會」應有更大的想像力。但即使不作此解，這句話應在說：兩岸現在的想像力不夠，面對未來「應有更大的想像力」。

就議題的談判言，此次王張會也許是近年雙邊會談中進展最小的一次。幾乎所有的議題皆以「具體落實」、「務實處理」、「盡早解決」或「探討可行途徑」等懸念語詞帶過。對照之下，雙方達成了王張二人互稱官銜的協議，與刻意呈現「政府首長對政府首長」首次會談的場景，及啟動了白手套與政府之間的換軌工程，即儼然成為舉行此會的主要政治宣示。

何況，王郁琦的謁中山陵祭文，是以民國紀元及「大陸委員會主任委員」的官銜署名，又以正式官銜在南京大學演說；在在顯示，這次王張會的表現已超越了一般人的想像。有人說，給我一個支點，我就可以撐起整個地球；未來的歷史會不會說，從互稱王主委、張主任開始，你就可以改變兩岸的格局與命運？

王張會發展至今，王張互稱官銜涉及了治權層次；而王郁琦在中山陵說中華民國一○三年，則關乎主權層次。倘若這個全景，皆是在雙方的默契之中，則兩岸關係即有可能從「主權互不承認／治權互不否認」的階段，進入「主權互不否認／治權相互承認」的境界。張志軍說「兩岸未來應有更大的想像力」，莫非正是需要這方面的想像力？

此次王張會中，北京當局對王郁琦的官銜仍是「謹慎處理」。張志軍主任在口頭上稱「王主委」、「郁琦主委」；但大陸媒體則稱「台灣方面陸委會負責人王郁琦」，也就是接受了「陸委會」，卻保留了「主委」。這樣的安排，若顯示大陸媒體未來亦可接受中華民國政府其他部會的官稱，不再「加引號」，但不稱官銜，如稱作「台灣方面行政院負責人江宜樺」，亦是重大的突破。相較而言，王郁琦以民國紀元與官銜及直稱國父與中華民國國號的謁陵動作，如果亦在國台辦「孫中山的豐功偉業已經載入史冊」的默認範圍，則此次王張會可謂一舉對兩岸的「稱謂論述／治權論述／主權論述」皆有了想像力破表的試探。如此，豈不是意義非凡？

「互稱官銜」不只是「治權論述」的問題，因而若只是「相互承認治權」，仍不能解決問題；因為，如果不能往上處理「主權論述」，則「互稱官銜」即可能呈現「一邊一國」。於是，為了不使「互稱官銜」流為「一邊一國」，即須首先處理「國家尚未統一的兩岸政治關係」（中共十八大政治報告語）。

解決的方案即是「大屋頂中國」：在大屋頂中國下，中華民國和中華人民共和國都是一部分的中國，同屬主權相互含蘊並共同合成的「一個中國」。

兩岸若是共同接受一個「大屋頂中國」，使中華民國與中華人民共和國皆為「一部分的中國」，雙方官員互稱官銜，即不致呈現「一邊一國」，而是同在「一個大屋頂中國」之下及之內。

此次王張會，大陸媒體至少已將陸委會「去引號」；則既可稱「台灣方面陸委會負責人王郁琦」，則若在馬習會稱「台灣當局領導人馬英九」，亦是順理成章。只要有「大屋頂中國」的念想，馬習會也就沒有障礙。至於王郁琦的中山陵談話，若可視為在主張「中華民國是一中架構中不可或缺的一部分」，則也不妨看成對「大屋頂中國」的探索。這些端緒將如何發展，都需要更大的想像力。