ss-Taiwan Strait peace talks could be held on the basis of the "92 consensus" under which the two sides agreed to the notion of "one China, two interpretations." Chang Jung-kung, deputy executive director of the KMT Policy Committee, made the remarks to reporters in response to Chinese President Hu Jintao's offer the previous day of broad cross-strait peace talks under the "one China" principle.
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council on Wednesday responded to Hu's offer by rejecting the "one China" principle as a precondition for the holding of such talks.
But Chang claimed that Hu was only stating that the people of the two sides belong to a single China and that he was not insisting that Taiwan's government accept Beijing's interpretation of the "one China" principle.
Chang pointed out that Hu's tone denoted a milder and more amiable approach to the Taiwan issue, noting that the Chinese president's comments did not include any references to China's Anti-Secession Law or to former President Jiang Zemin's comments that China would never give up the option of using military force to reunify with Taiwan, which China sees as part of its territory.
Chang further noted that in his comments, Hu was stressing the notions of the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and the well-being of people on both sides of the strait.
"Hu's comments were significant in the fact that the contents cannot be distorted by anyone in Taiwan as a campaign ploy ahead of the presidential election or to heighten the cross-strait standoff, " he said.
Chang further said that Hu's comments demonstrate the president's flexibility.
He added that the KMT advocates the holding of cross-strait talks on the basis of "one China, two interpretations" as a way of starting the process of bringing lasting peace to the Taiwan Strait region.
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