Dispute over names shouldn't scuttle MOU

Reports over the weekend have suggested that representatives from Taipei and Beijing had already completed the difficult work of drafting the body of the agreement. However, both sides became unable to move along with getting the MOU ready for signing due to a dispute over what titles both sides should use on the document.

This is absolutely ridiculous and goes against everything that leaders here and in mainland China have led us to expect.

Following last year's inauguration of President Ma Ying-jeou and Beijing's own insistence that it will be more pragmatic when dealing with Taiwan, we had believed that both sides would not let names and titles get in the way of achieving substantial cooperation. But last week, our Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) chairman Sean Chen told reporters that Beijing did not want the commission's title to appear on the MOU.

This opposition is based upon Beijing's version of a “one China” policy, under which Beijing stubbornly insists the People's Republic of China is the nation's sole legitimate government. Sean Chen declared that he would not sign any document that failed to respect basic principles and Taiwan's dignity.

For his part, President Ma Ying-jeou's policy is the “Consensus of 1992,” under which representatives of Taipei and Beijing orally agreed there is only one China, but also agreed that each side should be permitted to maintain its own interpretation of what “one China” means. Ma's official position is that “one China” refers to the Republic of China, although the ROC government is flexible about names and titles as long as they do not harm national dignity and bring about substantive benefits for the people of Taiwan.

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