In a seven-minute meeting at the Taipei Guest House, President Ma reiterated his three-point China policy of “no independence,” “no unification” and “no war” across the strait.

“Inasmuch as our security and international Lebensraum are concerned,” President Ma said, “the two sides of the strait should face the reality, shouldn’t negate each other, should promote the well-being of the people, should proactively deal with disputes by peaceful means, and should expand bilateral cooperation.”

Ma said Chen signed four agreements with P.K. Chiang, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), on shortened air routes, direct maritime shipping, better mail service and food safety.

They also exchanged views on financial and banking cooperation to cope with the impending economic crisis.

The Chen-Chiang meeting, Ma said, “is of great significance.”

“It marks a great step forward in relations between the two sides of the strait, and I believe they have not only lived up to the expectations of the people on both sides, but have also made great contributions to the stability and prosperity of the two sides,” President Ma pointed out.

The president said he hopes more “people on a high echelon” will exchange personal visits in the future.

After a brief speech, Ma exchanged gifts with Chen. The president presented a ceramic flower vase decorated with orchid flowers to the ARATS chairman, who gave a Chinese brush-painting of a horse in return. The family name of Ma means “horse.”

The form of address posed little problem. An announcer from the Office of the President introduced Ma as “President Ma,” while he called Chen “Chairman Chen.” ARATS is a “private, non-profit” organization like the SEF, though they are charged with conducting relations between Taiwan and China. Chen, on the other hand, used “Nin,” a more reverent version of “Ni” or “you” when he addressed Ma.

The ARATS chairman called off a scheduled press conference after his meeting with President Ma. Earlier, at 10:00 a.m., Ma called a surprise press conference to insist that he will not “budge an inch” on the question of sovereignty of the Republic of China.

He has come under fire from opposition DPP leaders, from its chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen on down, who are charging that he would be denigrating the dignity and downgrading the sovereignty of the Republic of China if Chen did not address him as President Ma.

To the surprised reporters, President Ma iterated his three-no China policy, which he repeated in the audience he granted Chen in his capacity as president, and stressed again the people of Taiwan alone can decide their own future.

The Chen-Chiang meeting, Ma said, “does not affect our sovereignty ... I give no concession, not even a bit,” he emphasized. “My tongue isn’t loose, not even a bit.”

Over the past two days, Ma went on, the SEF negotiated with the ARATS without losing any ground on the question of the country’s sovereignty. The negotiations were conducted on an equal footing, he added.

“There has been no denigration of any kind,” Ma asserted.

All four agreements were signed as a follow-up to what the previous DPP administration had done, Ma went on. “The Kuomintang government just wrapped up the deals,” he said.

The reason the current administration could strike such deals is that it accepts the consensus of 1992 as sine qua non for dialogue between Taiwan and China. The previous administration equated the tacit agreement on “one China with a different interpretation” with Taiwan’s total surrender to the People’s Republic of China.

“But please remember,” Ma said, “that agreement was reached while President Lee Teng-hui was in office.” Lee, the godfather of Taiwan independence, is the spiritual leader of the DPP’s ally Taiwan Solidarity Union.

“At any rate,” President Ma pointed out, “the Republic of China is an independent, sovereign state which has existed for 97 years. That is the fact nobody can change!”

The Ma-Chen meeting had to be rescheduled earlier after Chen and his ARATS delegation were all but mobbed at the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel, where Wu Po-hsiung, chairman of the Kuomintang, honored them at dinner Wednesday evening.

Hundreds of roused DPP supporters laid siege to the hotel, where Chen and his delegates were bottled up for eight hours.

The mob clashed with police. There was bloodshed. A Chinese TV anchorwoman and her reporter were attacked. Many were injured, some of them police guards.

Finally, riot police were sent to clear the way for Chen and his delegatation to leave the Grand Formosa Regent. They arrived back to the Grand Hotel in Taipei shortly after 2:00 a.m. yesterday.

The president decided to move up his meeting with Chen to save police more trouble yesterday. DPP Chairwoman Tsai was granted an assembly of protesters in part of the heart of the capital city near the Taipei Guest House from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Protesters couldn’t get into place in time to remonstrate against Ma’s pro-China policy.

Chen and the ARATS delegation are scheduled to wind up their four-day visit and leave for Beijing today.