Wu Poh-hsiung's Critical Mission: Initiate KMT-CCP Political Dialogue

Wu Poh-hsiung's Critical Mission: Initiate KMT-CCP Political Dialogue
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
June 13, 2013

Summary: Ma Ying-jeou recently met with Wu Poh-hsiung and a KMT delegation preparing for a mission to the Mainland. Honorary KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung's mission was clearly being given an official imprimateur. These moves informed Beijing that the Republic of China government was officially authorizing the KMT delegation to speak on its behalf. Whatever their content, these talks will be of landmark significance.

Full Text below:

On April 21, reporters asked President Ma Ying-jeou about the possibility of cross-Strait political dialogue. Ma said Beijing "sought progress amidst stability," and would not pressure Taipei. Ma said for Taipei to engage in political dialogue with Beijing was premature. "There is still no consensus. Therefore why the rush?" He said "While negotiating the past 18 agreements, we invariably encountered political problems. But we resolved every one of them. If we made a special effort to engage in political dialogue, what would we talk about?"

With these remarks still ringing in our ears, Ma Ying-jeou recently met with Wu Poh-hsiung and a KMT delegation preparing for a mission to the Mainland. The meeting was deliberately held at the Presidential Palace. News of the meeting was deliberately supplied to the media. Ma said he hoped the mission would be successful and achieve its purpose. Honorary KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung's mission was clearly being given an official imprimateur. These moves informed Beijing that the Republic of China government was officially authorizing the KMT delegation to speak on its behalf. Therefore Wu Poh-hsiung's visit should be considered the first ever political contact between Taipei and Beijing. Wu Poh-hsiung's dialogue with Beijing's top officials, including General Secretary Xi Jinping, should be considered the first ever official and public political dialogue. Whatever their content, these talks will be of landmark significance.

According to media reports, the scope of the dialogue will include cross-Strait relations, cross-Strait exchanges, follow-up negotiations on ECFA, and the ARATS-SEF establishment of representative offices. The two sides are expected to discuss whether the KMT and CCP should address politically-related issues in the latter half of the year. Closer scrutiny reveaks that some of these reports are true, while some are false. Leave aside the false reports for the moment. The reports of "future cross-Strait relations," and the reports that the KMT and CCP will discuss "politically-related issues during the latter half of the year" are true. We know this because the Mainland Affairs Council only deals with practical matters. Issues such as "future cross-Strait relations," and "KMT-CCP cross-Strait political dialogue" are issues under the Presidential Office's purvue. The real issue Ma Ying-jeou is addressing, is how the two sides can bridge the gap across the Strait, and how the two parties can establish political contacts and begin political dialogue. That is why when President Ma Ying-jeou met with Wu Poh-hsiung, he thrice stressed that, "Cross-Strait relations are not state to state relations."

Take the "cross-Strait establishment of representative offices" as an example. Ma feels this has "very real political implications," that are important to cross-Strait relations. As Ma reiterated, "The relationship between the two sides is not a state to state relationship," because under the framework of the ROC Constitution, "The Mainland cannot be characterized as a state." Therefore, the representative offices the two sides establish will not be "embassies." This is an extremely sensitive issue on Taiwan. The wording is critical in any cross-Strait political statement. The political opposition must also base any such statements on the ROC Constitution. This reaffirms our own constitution. This also reassures the other side. Upholding our own constitution responds to a statement by the CCP late last July. The CCP spoke of a "one China framework." It said "The core issue is that the Mainland and Taiwan both belong to the same country. Cross-Strait relations are not relations between different countries. The two sides should begin by reaffirming their existing legal provisions. They should reaffirm these as objective facts. They should establish a shared perception. On this basis, they should uphold and reaffirm the framework of one China." Therefore when Wu Poh-hsiung dialogues with Beijing regarding "future cross-Strait relations," the terms of the dialogue will be even clearer.

Ma Ying-jeou also recalled the events of 2008. Five years ago Wu Poh-hsiung led a delegation to the Mainland. a mere 10 days after his inauguration. He met with top CCP leaders and established a future direction for cross-Strait relations. This was a major contribution to cross-Strait relations. Ma Ying-jeou wished Wu Poh-hsiung a successful mission. He hoped Wu would bring back good news.

All this underscores the importance of Wu Poh-hsiung's mission. It is kick-starting cross-Strait ruling party political dialogue. A member of the delegation, former National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi, said it was only natural that political dialogue would begin with the private sector. This was the case with negotiations over direct cross-Strait flights. "First let people to people talks yield results. Then when the time is ripe, let the government take over."

Let us evaluate the larger international picture. Let us predict the impact on the rest of Asia. Ma Ying-jeou's decision is correct. He summoned up the courage and finally took this step, one clearly crucial to the healthy and rational development of cross-Strait relations. We would like to offer the following reminders.

One. Is Ma Ying-jeou serious about cross-Strait political dialogue? If he is, political negotiations demand mental clarity. Is a policy conducive to Taiwan's development? If it is, then he must demonstrate the same courage he had when promoting ECFA. He must mobilize the government and community leaders to influence public opinion. He must focus his energy and resources to promote its implementation, to reassure the public, and to reduce opposition. He must not give up halfway. That would both destroy public support, and undermine cross-Strait relations.

Two. Ma must not use "political dialogue between the two parties" as bait, as a bargaining chip to benefit special interests. Genuine political dialogue to promote cross-Strait relations is essential. Otherwise, one may invoke public opinion on Taiwan. But if one returns to the same old populist demagoguery, then one will forfeit the moral high ground, and doom Taiwan to isolation.

Three. When promoting change, pressure and criticism are inevitable. Reducing such pressure requires honest communication, openness, and transparency. It requires making a distinction between President Ma and Chairman Ma. It requires reanimating the spirit of the Kuomintang. It requires offering Taiwan and the Chinese nation a strategic plan. Doing so will provide Beijing with a clear response, and demonstrate the government's tactical aptitude. It will reaffirm Taiwan's value and ensure the people's well-being. It will ensure that the public and the party back the government's efforts to improve cross-Strait relations.

中時電子報 新聞
中國時報 　2013.06.13
社論－吳伯雄任重道遠 開啟兩黨政治對話
本報訊

    　今年四月廿一日馬英九總統接受本報專訪時，被詢「兩岸是否可能開展政治對話」時還表示大陸對此已表示應「穩中求進步」，不會給任何壓力…台灣與對岸的政治對話時機仍不成熟，「大家都沒有一致的意見，那又何必急？」他又說「過去談判了十八項協議，多少會碰到政治問題，但都解決了；若特別要進行政治對話，那要談什麼？」

    　上述說法言猶在耳，日前馬英九刻意在「總統府」會見吳伯雄等國民黨代表團一行，而且主動向媒體公布，期許此行能順利達成交付任務，凸顯了吳伯雄榮譽主席此行所具的正式代表性。此一動作，自然有正式告訴北京，此團訪是經過中華民國政府授權的中國國民黨訪問團，因此，這次吳伯雄的訪問應該可以被定位為兩岸首次的政治接觸，而吳伯雄與北京高層，以及與習近平總書記的對話，就是一次不折不扣的兩岸首次正式公開的政治對話，不論其內容為何，都具有里程碑的意義。

    　按媒體披露此次對話範圍，包括：未來兩岸關係開展、兩岸交流、兩岸ＥＣＦＡ後續談判、兩岸兩會互設辦事處等；另外，雙方可望交換意見，討論「下半年國共論壇是否列入兩岸政治對話相關議題。」詳細分析起來，這裡有實有虛，虛且不論，「未來兩岸關係開展」以及「下半年國共論壇是否列入兩岸政治對話相關議題」，是「實」的部分，因為「陸委會」只處理現實問題，而「未來兩岸關係開展」及「國共論壇列入兩岸政治對話」這一部分是總統府規畫，由此觀之，此次馬英九總統委託的真正議題，就是兩岸如何經由兩黨搭橋開啟兩岸初期的政治接觸與政治對話。所以馬英九總統才必須在會見吳伯雄等人時三度強調「兩岸不是國與國關係」。

    　借「現在推動兩岸互設辦事處」為例，他認為這是「具有高度政治涵義」的兩岸關係的重大措施，「但兩岸之間不是國與國的關係」，因為在「憲法」架構下，「不可能把大陸看做是一個國家」。因此，不會把雙方設立的辦事機構當做「外交使領館」。這是在台灣極敏感、在兩岸極關鍵的政治表態，是以憲法將在野黨一軍，也是以憲法表自己的態，安對岸的心，因為提出自己的憲法，正是回應了中共去年七月底，提出的「一中框架」中所說：「核心是大陸和台灣同屬一個國家，兩岸關係不是國與國的關係。兩岸從各自現行規定出發，確認這一客觀事實，形成共同認知，就確立、維護和鞏固了一個中國框架」，以便吳伯雄在與北京對話「未來兩岸關係開展」時，可以擁有更清楚的空間。

    　馬英九同時回顧了二○○八年的往事：五年前吳伯雄率團去大陸，就在他就職十幾天後，有機會與當時的中共最高領導人見面，確立未來兩岸關係發展方向，這點對兩岸關係有非常大的貢獻。馬英九預祝吳伯雄任務成功，帶回雙方關係往前邁進的好消息。

    　這裡就暗示了吳伯雄此團的重大意義，開啟兩岸執政黨的政治對話，同一團的前國安會祕書長蘇起表示，政治對話由民間開始最自然，就像當初兩岸協商直航，「讓民間先談出成果，等水到渠成再由政府來接手」。

    　盱衡整體國際形勢，前瞻亞洲的變化，馬英九的決定是正確的，鼓足勇氣，終於踏出了這一步，對未來兩岸關係的發展顯然是健康而理性的關鍵作為。我們在此要提醒的有：

    　第一、如果馬英九真正對兩岸的政治對話、政治談判的必要性想清楚，認定此一政策是對台灣發展有利，那就必須以推動ＥＣＦＡ的勇氣，動員政府，發動精英去引導民意，影響民意，專注精力和資源，促其實現，以安民心，以化對立。萬萬不可半途而廢，既失民心，又傷兩岸。

    　第二、切忌以「兩黨政治對話」為餌，換取某些政治利益，而沒有真誠推動兩岸關係政治對話的後續行動，甚至再以台灣民意、社會民調為藉口，走回民粹老路，則陷伯公於不義，陷台灣於孤立。

    　第三、推動變化，各種壓力在所難免，責難在所難免，化解壓力之道，除了誠心誠意的溝通，適時地公開透明之外，區別馬總統與馬主席，真正調動中國國民黨的精神資產，為台灣，為中華民族提出戰略規畫，以之因應北京；以中華民國政府的戰術作為，確保台灣的價值，台灣人民的幸福，則全民、全黨都會成為調整兩岸關係的後盾。