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The recent announcement of Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian
to "cease" the functioning of the National Unification Council (NUC)
has attracted widespread international attention. The pronouncement made during
last Monday's chairing of a meeting at the National Security Council (NSC) was
interpreted by various international press, media and analysts as provocative
and furthermore seen as problematic by the Bush administration. However, other
critics argue that the effect of president Chen’s announcement are overstated.
"The truth is rather different," senior Taiwan analyst John J. Tkacik
at the Heritage Foundation pointed out [1]. In an opinion piece published by
the Wall Street Journal on 1 March 2006, Tkacik indicates that the US government
remains sympathetic to President's Chen's position and that Washington acknowledges
the efforts of President Chen to ameliorate relations with China, whilst Taiwan's
goodwill has so far received little substantial response from Beijing.
Referring to Chen’s announcement and the ensuing attention
to the matter, UNPO General Secretary, Mr. Marino Busdachin, states that critics
should assess the actual operational efficacy of the NUC before drawing conclusions;
“This is to take note of the cease of functioning of a body that never
worked, and was never seriously considered by the Peoples Republic of China
(PRC).” Busdachin adds that the latter point was furthermore demonstrated
by last year’s passing of the Anti-Secession Law, a move by Beijing that
remains a contentious element in current cross-strait relations.
The “Peace, Stability and Security in East Asia: The
Question of China – Taiwan” conference held in November 2005 by
UNPO in collaboration with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, focused precisely
on the question of initiatives to maintain status-quo and/or the improvement
of overall relations. Busdachin asserts; “A clarification of status-quo
relations between democratic Taiwan and the PRC could be seen only in terms
of a positive and optimistic evaluation in order to start a new season of dialogue
and stimulate improved relations between the parties to decrease cross-strait
tension.”
Reference: [1] Tkacik, John J. (2006) Chen Lets Off Steam,
The Wall Street Journal (Asia), March 1, 2006
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