Past Accomplishments and Future Developments: Can Lien-Xi Summit Transcend Lien-Hu Summit?

Past Accomplishments and Future Developments:
Can Lien-Xi Summit Transcend Lien-Hu Summit? 
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
February 22, 2013

Summary: The 2005 Lien-Hu Summit made a significant historical contribution. Let us hope that the 2013 Lien-Xi and Lien-Hu Summits do more than commemorate past accomplishments. Let us hope they faciliate future developments, and lead the two sides toward a new realm. The 2005 Lien-Hu Summit changed the world. The 2013 Lien-Xi Summit should move heaven and earth. The Lien-Xi Summit could even surpass the Lien-Hu Summit. At the very least it must not retreat or turn back the clock. We hope both sides do their utmost to create a new future for cross-Strait relations.

Full Text below:

Honorary KMT Chairman Lien Chan has accepted an invitation to visit the Chinese mainland this Sunday.

This will be the first time that CCP Secretary-General Xi Jinping has met Lien Chan. It will be the last time PRC President Hu Jintao meets Lien Chan in his official capacity. According to reports, it is the first time the CCP General Secretary and the PRC President have ever separately hosted the same visiting VIP. In the past, one person always assumed two roles. The CCP General Secretary would also serve as PRC President.

As we all know, today's cross-Strait relations are built on a foundation established during the 2005 Lien-Hu Summit. Beijing is about to undergo a handover of power. They have invited Lien Chan to raise the curtain on cross-Strait interaction. Incoming and outgoing party and national leaders Xi Jinping and Hu Jintao will meet with Lien separately. This means that in Beijing's eyes, the 2013 Lian-Xi Summit recalls the 2005 Lien-Hu Summit, and heralds future developments. We hope the summit commemorates past accomplishments, but even more, we hope it facilitates future developments.

First consider past accomplishments. On the Beijing side, the cross-Strait policy promoted by the Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping teams' is reflected in the CCP's 18th Party Congress Political Report. Generally speaking, Hu laid down the rules and Xi followed them. But the 18th Party Congress Cross-Strait Political Report includes a great deal of unfinished business. Therefore it lies somewhere between "past accomplishments" and "future developments." On the Taipei side, Lien Chan in 2005 was Chairman of the Kuomintang. Today in 2013, Lien Chan is merely an Honorary Chairman. Lien Chan is one step removed from both the KMT as a political party, and the KMT as the ruling government. Lien Chan is conveying the Ma Ying-jeou team's policy stance to Beijing. But he also hopes to express his own ideas about cross-Strait relations. Lien will inevitably find himself on the horns of a dilemma, caught between commemorating his past accomplishments and conveying a message affecting future developments.

The upcoming Lien-Xi and Lien-Hu summits commemorate past accomplishments. But more importantly, we hope they will facilitate future developments. During the upcoming summit Xi Jinping will discuss cross-Strait policy, for the very first time. This will set the tone. Lien Chan, as one of the two pioneers of the 2005 Lien-Hu Summit, will share his hopes for future cross-Strait relations. This will both commemorate past accomplishments and facilitate future developments. Take past accomplishments. This summit commemorates the past accomplishments of the 2005 "Five Hopes for Peaceful Development." Take future developments. On the one hand, we see unfinished business from 2005. On the other hand, we anticipate a breakthrough, to future developments that transcend the accomplishments of 2005.

If what we seek is future developments that transcend past limitations, then the agenda of the summit is clear. It must focus on the CCP 18th Party Congress Political Report. It must focus on "Exploring the special case of cross-Strait political relations under conditions in which the two sides have yet to be reunified." We must combine this reasoning with Beijing's "taking the two sides' existing provisions (i.e., constitutions) as our point of departure." We must "seek a link that joins the two sides into one China." Under this framework, the two sides can shift the focus from "reunification" to "yet to be reunified" cross-Strait relations. We can "make reasonable arrangements." We can use "a reasonable process to guide cross-Strait interaction, in a better direction."

This framework constitutes the "special circumstances under which the two sides have yet to be reunified." This is the issue we ought to address. We have amended the past "reunification or bust theory" to "making reasonable arrangements." This has corrected past unilateralism. The "special circumstances under which the two sides have yet to be reunified" refers of course to the "special circumstances under which the ROC and the PRC have yet to be reunified." If we can create a "yet to be reunified but reasonable" framework, this will relieve Beijing of the burden to "reunify." It will also relieve Taipei of the need for handwringing over "Taiwan independence."

Reunification vs. independence struggles force Beijing to cope with reunification, and Taipei to cope with Taiwan independence. We must change our thinking, and focus on the "yet to be reunified relationship," The two sides will then be able to move towards a more stable and positive future. We must make the transition to the next significant stage of cross-Strait relations. We must ensure "peaceful development" under "yet to be reunified special circumstances." Only then will the Lian-Xi Summit and Lien-Hu Summit commemorate past accomplishments, and faciliate future developments.

International attention is focused on the cross-Strait summit. The person with the most freedom of action and ability to transcend limitations is Lien Chan. Xi Jinping, Hu Jintao, and "remote participant" Ma Ying-jeou are bound by their job positions. Even if they want to achieve a breakthrough, they may be afraid to or unable to speak. Lien Chan alone is free and without constraints. Only he has credibility with the public on both sides. Therefore, we hope Lien Chan will take advantage of his freedom and lack of constraints, to transcend the framework of the government and political parties. We hope he will convey the aspirations of the people on both sides, and help leaders on both sides blaze a new trail for cross-Strait relations.

The 2005 Lien-Hu Summit made a significant historical contribution. Let us hope that the 2013 Lien-Xi and Lien-Hu Summits do more than commemorate past accomplishments. Let us hope they faciliate future developments, and lead the two sides toward a new realm. The 2005 Lien-Hu Summit changed the world. The 2013 Lien-Xi Summit should move heaven and earth. The Lien-Xi Summit could even surpass the Lien-Hu Summit. At the very least it must not retreat or turn back the clock. We hope both sides do their utmost to create a new future for cross-Strait relations.

傳承與發展：連習會能否超越連胡會
【聯合報╱社論】
2013.02.22 04:24 am

國民黨榮譽主席連戰應邀在周日率團訪問大陸。

這是中共總書記習近平就任後首次會見連戰，亦將是中華人民共和國國家主席胡錦濤任內最後一次會見連戰。據稱，這也是中共總書記與中國國家主席首次「各自分別」接見同一外賓，以前向來是以一人兼二職（總書記兼國家主席）會客。

眾所皆知，今日的兩岸關係是二○○五年「連胡會」奠定的基礎，北京方面在此主政團隊交接的時刻，選擇以邀訪連戰來開啟兩岸互動的序幕，且由習近平、胡錦濤黨政新舊領導人分別會見，應可顯示在北京的意念中，此次二○一三年的「連習會」，是二○○五年「連胡會」的傳承與發展。我們對此會的期望則是：固應重傳承，但更當重發展。

先言「傳承」。對大陸而言，胡錦濤團隊與習近平團隊的兩岸政策已反映於中共十八大的政治報告中，在大格局上雖是胡規習隨，但十八大的兩岸報告畢竟仍有諸多「未竟事宜」，所以是處在「傳承」與「發展」之間。在台灣而言，則二○○五年的連戰是國民黨主席，但如今二○一三年的連戰則是「榮譽主席」，無論於政黨或政府，連戰皆已隔了一層，連戰此行在傳達馬英九團隊政策立場與表達自己的主張之間，難免會陷於「傳承」與「傳遞」的兩難。

所以，此次的連習會與連胡會雖有「傳承」之意，但我們期望能夠多往「發展」的方向推進。此次會面，習近平將首次對其兩岸政策提出論述，有開宗明義之效；連戰亦可望以二○○五年連胡會創始者的身分，表達對於兩岸新局的期許，有承先啟後之功。就傳承言，此會是總結二○○五年「和平發展五願景」的時際；就發展言，則一方面可檢視二○○五年以來未竟之功，另一方面亦當尋求突破及超越二○○五年架構的新道路。

我們認為，若求發展及突破，此次會面議題的切入點，應當寓於中共十八大政治報告所說「探討尚未統一特殊情況下的兩岸政治關係」這段論述之中，再配合北京所言「從兩岸現行規定（憲法）出發」，及「尋找一個中國的連結點」等觀點；在此一架構之下，兩岸若能從「統一」的議題上，轉移至經營「尚未統一」的兩岸關係，「作出合情合理的安排」，即可引導兩岸之互動「從合理的過程，通向改良之目的」。

此一架構是將「尚未統一的特殊情況」視為一個應當面對的新課題，亦即修正了過去存在的「唯統一論」；且也主張「作出合情合理安排」，亦即修正了過去存在的「單邊主義」。而所謂的「尚未統一特殊情況」，應即是指「中華民國與中華人民共和國尚未統一的特殊情況」；若能據此營造一個「尚未統一之合情合理的架構」，將可使北京減輕「統一」的負擔，亦可使台灣緩解「台獨」的爭議。

其實，陷於統獨爭議中，北京為統一所困，台灣則糾纏於台獨；若能改變思考，將心意投注於「尚未統一」關係之經營，兩岸即可能走向更穩定與正向的未來。若能因此使未來相當階段的兩岸關係，落實在「尚未統一特殊情況」的「和平發展」上，則此次「連習會」及「連胡會」，就不僅是「傳承」而已，而是有其可以期待的「發展」。

在此次國際矚目的兩岸盛會中，最具自由及超然地位者應是連戰。習近平及胡錦濤，與「會外參與者」馬英九，皆因職位角色而受拘束，他們即使希望有所突破及發展，卻可能亦有不敢言或不能言者；唯連戰的角色最為自由及超然，亦較能獲得兩岸多數民眾的信服，因此我們寄望連戰在會中能發揮其較具自由的超然地位，跳出政權及政黨的框架，傳達兩岸人民的心聲，協助兩岸領導人為下階段的兩岸關係開闢出新的道路。

二○○五年的連胡會有其重大歷史貢獻，我們寄望此次二○一三年的連習會及連胡會，在「傳承」之外，更有「發展」，引領兩岸未來走向新境界。二○○五年連胡會有扭轉乾坤之效，二○一三年的連習會更應有新闢天地之功；連習會大有超越連胡會的空間，至少絕不可出現反動與倒退，期望雙方參與者皆能竭心盡力，為兩岸未來開創新局。